QUICK HELPS KINGS PUNCH TICKET TO THE POSTSEASON
Jonathan Quick denied 27 of 28 shots to help the Kings become the first Western Conference team to clinch a berth in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, their 29th postseason appearance in franchise history and sixth in the past seven seasons.
The Kings picked up their fourth consecutive victory and extended their point streak to seven contests (6-0-1). At 44-22-5 (93 points), the Kings increased their lead to six points over the idle Ducks (39-22-9, 87 points) for first place in the Pacific Division.
Quick stretched his personal point streak to six games (5-0-1), including three straight wins, and improved to 37-17-4 overall (2.14 GAA, .921 SV%, 4 SO). His 37 victories this season rank second in the NHL, behind Washington's Braden Holtby (43).
Kings forward Anze Kopitar (4-3—7) each extended their point streaks to five games
PENGUINS RALLY FOR CRUCIAL WIN
Down 1-0 to their cross-state rivals, the Penguins scored four unanswered goals en route to their fifth straight win. Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) extended his point streak to 11 games (6-12—18) and ranks third in the NHL with 31-43—74 this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury (16 saves) picked up his fourth straight win. At 39-24-8 (86 points), the Penguins leapfrogged the Islanders (38-23-9, 85 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
RED WINGS PRODUCE COMEBACK WIN
Meanwhile, Detroit mustered its own vital comeback victory. Trailing the Panthers 3-1, the Red Wings scored four unanswered goals to pick up their fourth victory in their last six contests (4-2-0). Pavel Datsyuk (2-0—2) registered his third multi-goal game of the season (also Feb. 14 vs. BOS: 2-1—3 and Feb. 8 vs. FLA: 2-0—2).
Dylan Larkin (1-1—2) recorded his seventh multi-point game of the campaign and ranks fourth among all rookies with 21-22—43 this season. At 36-25-11 (83 points), the Red Wings increased their lead to three points over the Flyers (34-24-12, 80 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
SPECIAL TEAMS LIFT SENATORS PAST CANADIENS
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Curtis Lazar and Alex Chiasson each scored shorthanded goals and Andrew Hammond denied all 30 shots he faced as the Senators earned their third straight win at Canadian Tire Centre.
Pageau scored his NHL-leading sixth shorthanded goal of the season. Pageau is one shy of the franchise record for most in a season, set by Daniel Alfredsson (7) in 2007-08.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Senators scored three shorthanded goals in a game for the fourth time in franchise history and first since April 3, 2008 at TOR (Cody Bass, Dean McAmmond, Antoine Vermette). The Senators lead the NHL with 15 shorthanded goals this season, five more than the next-closest team (Winnipeg Jets: 10).
Hammond picked up his first shutout of the season and the fourth of his NHL career, improving to 25-9-6 in 44 career appearances (2.16 GAA, .929 SV%, 4 SO).
SATURDAY’S RESULTS (Home Team in Caps)
Pittsburgh 4, PHILADELPHIA 1
MINNESOTA 3, Carolina 2 (SO)
SAN JOSE 4, NY Rangers 1
TORONTO 4, Buffalo 1
OTTAWA 5, Montreal 0
Detroit 5, FLORIDA 3
COLUMBUS 6, New Jersey 3
DALLAS 3, NY Islanders 0
St. Louis 3, VANCOUVER 0
Tampa Bay 2, ARIZONA 0
LOS ANGELES 2, Boston 1
STREAKING PENGUINS HOST TOP-RANKED CAPITALS
The Capitals (51-14-5) visit the Penguins (39-24-8) in a key Metropolitan Division showdown that opens doubleheader coverage on NBCSN. The visitors have an opportunity to clinch the Metropolitan Division regular-season title and the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will look to tie its season-high winning streak of six games. The Penguins are 6-1-0 in a stretch of nine consecutive games against Metropolitan Division opponents.
SUNDAY'S ACTION (All Times Eastern)
Anaheim @ Winnipeg, 3:00 p.m., FS-W, TSN3
Columbus @ New Jersey, 5:00 p.m., FS-O, MSG+
Washington @ Pittsburgh, 6:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVAS
Calgary @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., RDS, SN
Minnesota @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., NBCSN
Colorado @ Edmonton, 9:30 p.m., ALT, SN1
Arizona @ San Jose, 10:00 p.m., FS-A, CSN-CA
By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services
No comments:
Post a Comment
We encourage all intelligent, passionate comments. Please refrain from any ignorant, racist, or offensive rants.