Cam Atkinson scored two goals and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves and the Blue Jackets stayed alive in the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

Mark Letestu snapped a 1-1 tie in the third period for the game-winner.

Before the game ended, the Stars were eliminated from playoff contention when Detroit defeated Nashville 5-2, moving past Minnesota into seventh in the Western Conference.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, I don’t think,” said goaltender Kari Lehtonen, who made 32 saves in a losing effort. “It feels bad right now and I’m sure it feels even worse tomorrow.”

The Blue Jackets are even in points with the Wild, who hold eighth place due to the non-shootout wins tiebreaker.

Columbus needs to beat the Predators on Saturday, and have the Stars beat the Red Wings in regulation on Saturday, or have the Wild earn no more than one point in their two remaining games, to earn just the second postseason berth in franchise history and first since 2009.

“Our players have earned this opportunity,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “Granted, we still need some help, but it’s going to make for a great environment on Saturday in our building.”

Making the playoffs would cap off a remarkable turnaround for Columbus, which started the season 5-12-2 and was last overall in the NHL in late February, before reeling off an 18-5-5 run since to make an improbable bid for a postseason berth.

“It feels great. You can only control what you can control and that’s what we’re doing,” said Atkinson, who had a game-high seven shots on goal. “We’re doing our job and that’s all we can do. I felt like I probably should have had six or seven tonight but I scored when it counted. It’s exciting to score but it’s even better to win games.”

The Blue Jackets, which concluded a six-game road trip with a 5-1-0 record, got two third-period goals from its league-worst power play to secure the triumph.

“We came in here, did our job and we won our game,” said center Brandon Dubinsky, who added two assists. “We’re going to have to do it again on Saturday. Hell of a job by these guys, six-game road trip, 5-1 against some damn good teams, really proud of these guys. The job’s not done, but we gave ourselves an opportunity.”

Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who have lost four straight (0-3-1) to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season, the longest drought in franchise history.

“We were in every single game and the guys battled so hard for that last stretch,” winger Eric Nystrom said. “We just came up a little short and got zero help — it was just the combination of everything going against us. We got so many good, young guys coming up, so much character, that we’re going in the right direction.”

The Stars knew their fate by the time the third period started and that’s when Columbus seized control of the game.

“To be honest, we knew after the second period and I think most of our players did too,” Dallas coach Glen Gulutzan said. “However, at the moment, the loss stings. You’re focused on this game. And we were a little flat in the third, maybe for a reason though.”

Letestu’s 13th goal of the season snapped a 1-1 tie at 7:56 of the third, just three seconds after Stephane Robidas entered the penalty box for an interference penalty. Dubinsky won the faceoff, pulling the puck back to Letestu at the right point for a slap shot that appeared to nick off Nystrom’s stick and sailed over Lehtonen’s glove.

“If they win the draw, it’s 30 seconds off the kill. So he makes a good draw and I just try to get it on there as quick as possible,” Letestu said of Dubinsky. “We try to make an effort to get a lot of pucks on the net on the power play and it just happened to hit Nystrom’s stick on the way through and changed direction.”

The goal snapped a 1-for-22 power play drought for Columbus.

Bobrovsky came up with a big pad save at 10:10 to preserve the Columbus advantage, denying Ray Whitney’s wrist shot from the slot.

A Nystrom interference penalty with 2:49 remaining put the Blue Jackets back on the power play and Atkinson capitalized on the opportunity with 1:40 to go.

After Lehtonen stopped Jack Johnson’s shot from the left point, the rebound came out to the left of the crease, right to Atkinson, who tucked it just inside the left post for his eighth goal of the season.

“It ended up being the difference in the game,” Richards said of the power play. “We got two and we had changed some things. And we had a good play there in the third period, shooting the puck, simple plays, getting the puck to the net.”

After falling behind on the game’s opening shift, the Stars tied it on the power play at 8:43 of the second period. Erik Cole’s pass into the slot from the right faceoff circle deflected off Atkinson’s stick and bounced right to Benn at the left post for an easy tap-in.

Benn’s 12th goal of the season — and fourth in the past six games — swung the momentum Dallas’ way and it continued to press throughout the period, but Bobrovsky shut the door.

The Blue Jackets jumped on top immediately, as Atkinson scored just 19 seconds into the opening period. Lehtonen stopped Blake Comeau’s wrist shot from the slot, but left a rebound next to him in the crease and Atkinson pounced on it, jamming it home for a 1-0 lead.

“Of course, that’s not what you want to do right on the first shift,” Lehtonen said. “I felt like I made a couple of good saves right before that, and then I just lost the puck.”

Game notes

Bobrovsky, considered a Vezina Trophy candidate as the NHL’s top goaltender, entered with a 16-5-3 record since March 1, with a 1.65 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage, as well as four shutouts. … The Stars honored former D Richard Matvichuk as part of their 20th anniversary all-time team. Matvichuk, who played in Dallas from 1993-2004 as part of a 14-year NHL career, was part of the franchise’s only Stanley Cup team in 1999.

The post Blue Jackets stay alive in West playoff race appeared first on IdealCapper.

Johansen scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:37 remaining after a turnover by Joe Pavelski, and the Blue Jackets overcame a blown two-goal lead in the third period to beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Sunday night.

“It feels like a little bit of destiny with this team,” said forward R.J. Umberger, who assisted on the winning goal. “We’re just a very confident team. We feel like we are underdogs every night. We’re proving people wrong. This team believes a lot and it just feels like our destiny that we’re to make the playoffs. We want to make it more than anything.”

Mark Letestu scored twice and Vinny Prospal also scored for the Blue Jackets, who moved into a tie for seventh place with Minnesota in the Western Conference with 51 points — three points ahead of Detroit and Dallas for the final playoff spot. Columbus has played one more game than the Wild and Stars, and two more than the Red Wings.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for the Blue Jackets, who won for the sixth time in seven games as they try for the second playoff berth in franchise history.

The game came down to that late turnover by Pavelski, who lost the puck trying to come out of his own zone, setting up Johansen’s second game-winner of the season.

“I was licking my chops,” Johansen said. “That was for sure. I just found a hole there. It was nice to be in the middle of the ice, it’s a great shooting area. I was just lucky to beat (Antti) Niemi on the shot. I felt like it was good scoring chance right away. This is the biggest goal I’ve scored in my career so far. It’s a great feeling.”

It was a wild swing of emotions in the third period, especially for Pavelski. The Sharks rallied from 3-1 down to tie the game on his power-play goal with 5:03 remaining only to miss a chance to clinch the playoffs when they lost in regulation at home for just the second time this season.

“It was right there for us obviously,” Pavelski said. “It’s tough. You never want to make a play like that at the end. You understand where you are in the game and you understand these things do happen once in a while. It’s tough when they do, but we have to move on and get better from this and I have to try to execute better next time.”

Martin Havlat and Andrew Desjardins also scored and Niemi made 18 saves in his 23rd straight start for the Sharks, who need one point to clinch their ninth straight playoff berth.

While San Jose still has three more games to clinch the playoffs, this loss dealt a blow to the team’s hopes to get home-ice advantage in the first round. The Sharks fell two points behind fourth-place Los Angeles in the standings, but remained one point ahead of sixth-place St Louis. San Jose would lose the tiebreaker to both teams based on fewer regulation and overtime wins.

“I wasn’t concerned with getting a point and putting an X by our name,” coach Todd McLellan said. “I was concerned about our game. It’s our game that will get us there or won’t get us there. Forget about the clinch part.”

McLellan was upset about his team’s sloppy, lackluster play for much of the night. San Jose had 17 giveaways in the game with a bad pass by Brad Stuart setting up Prospal’s goal that made it 2-0 and Pavelski’s turnover leading to Johansen’s game-winner.

“Our forecheck is a strength of ours,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “If we are forechecking hard and we’re after pucks and using our speed and our size that’s playing to our strengths. Turnovers in this game whether it was them or us. Turnovers are huge.”

The Blue Jackets swept the three-game season series from San Jose, winning for just the third time in 22 games at the Shark Tank.

After falling behind 2-0 when Prospal scored on a breakaway following Stuart’s turnover, the Sharks got back into the game when Logan Couture fed Havlat in front for a tip-in midway through the second period.

But San Jose then allowed a rare power-play goal at home to fall back behind by two. With Matt Irwin in the box for interference, Letestu beat Niemi with a blast from the left point for his 12th goal of the season and first multigoal game since March 8, 2012, against Los Angeles.

Columbus had been 0-for-17 on the power play over the last eight games.

Game notes

San Jose had been 16-1-5 at home, with the only regulation loss coming to Chicago on Feb. 5. … The Sharks have allowed seven power-play goals at home this season. … Columbus C Artem Anisimov (concussion), F Matt Calvert (broken finger) and D Nikita Nikitin (lower body) sat out with injuries. … San Jose D Jason Demers, who was hurt in the third period on Thursday, missed the game and was replaced by Scott Hannan.

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After all, the NHL leaders started the lockout-shortened season with points in their first 24 games — a league record.

But the Blackhawks made a strong statement Sunday in becoming the first team this season to clinch postseason berth, as they used a third-period rally to beat the Nashville Predators 5-3.

Rookie Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews scored 55 seconds apart midway through the third. Chicago (29-5-4) had fallen behind 3-2 early in the period on a goal by Nashville’s David Legwand, but Saad and Toews connected against Pekka Rinne to put the Blackhawks back ahead.

The Blackhawks defeated the Predators for the second time in two days and improved to 13-0-1 against Central Division teams.

“We obviously wanted to stay in the spot we’re in in the standings,” Toews said, “but first and foremost, our No. 1 goal coming in every season is we want to make the playoffs.

“To beat a team like Nashville twice in a row, first on the road and then at home, is a great thing. We did a lot of good things in that game, but most of all, we didn’t stop working. We found a way to win in the third.”

Patrick Kane, who set up Toews’ eventual game-winner, added an empty-net goal with 32 seconds left to complete the scoring. Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell also scored for Chicago.

Kane’s hustling assist on Toews goal at 10:32 of the third might have been the pivotal mark on the score sheet.

Kane outraced two Predators to a loose puck on the back boards, then centered to Toews, who connected on a low shot from the right circle.

“That should be the headline, because you don’t see that too often. I’m just kidding,” Toews said. “It was a great play by him.

“I came flying off the bench and he saw me in the slot. My first thought was to try and find Saad backdoor because I could see him kind of going to the net there, but I went against that instinct and shot the puck.”

Shea Weber and Nick Spaling each had a goal and an assist for the Predators (15-17-8), who are 13th in the Western Conference with 38 points, five behind eighth-place Detroit at the postseason cutoff.

“It was competitive,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “(The Predators) played both these games as they had to win. Yesterday we were maybe a little bit more efficient than we were today, but we were sticking with it.”

Nashville played with desperation after a sluggish first period, but the Predators were done in by mistakes — and a talented Chicago team.

“We got beat to the puck on the one (Toews) goal,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “It was just individual stuff.

“That’s on our D. Our D has got to have that puck.”

Chicago’s Ray Emery stopped 19 shots, following a 20-save, 1-0 win at Nashville on Saturday. The Blackhawks improved to 4-0 against the Predators this season.

Rinne, who leads the NHL in games and minutes played, made 35 saves as he appeared in his 29th straight contest.

The Predators have made the playoffs the past three seasons and in seven of eight, but that run is in jeopardy

“We’ve just got to play hard and see what happens,” Trotz said. “The chances are remote, but you’ve got to play hard. You’re not going to do anybody any favors if you don’t.”

Both teams skated without key forwards.

Nashville left wing Gabriel Bourque, who is tied with Legwand for the team lead with 11 goals, missed his fourth game because of an upper body injury. Mike Fisher, third on the Predators with 19 points, sat out after aggravating a hand injury that caused him to miss three games last week.

Patrick Sharp, who led the Blackhawks with 33 goals last season, missed his 14th game with a shoulder injury. Dave Bolland sat out his second because of a lower body injury, believed to have been caused when a shot by Weber struck him last Monday.

The Blackhawks killed the only penalty against them on Sunday and have snuffed 17 straight chances. Chicago hasn’t allowed a power-play goal in 10 games, dating to March 18.

The Blackhawks entered the game as the third-least penalized team in the NHL, training the New York Islanders and Rangers.

Shaw opened the scoring 6:34 in on a tip-in.

Michael Frolik jumped on a rebound that Rinne had deflected to the left boards, then turned and fired on goal in one motion. Shaw deflected the puck over Rinne’s shoulder.

The Blackhawks dominated the first period, outshooting the Predators 17-7. But a turnover by defenseman Johnny Oduya in the slot set off a scramble that led to Spaling’s goal that made it 1-1 with 2:44 left.

Sergei Kostitsyn grabbed the loose puck and shot from a sharp angle to the right of the net. Emery stopped that attempt, but Spaling fired in the rebound before Emery could recover.

Bickell, who scored Chicago’s only goal on Saturday, put the Blackhawks back in front 2-1 at 2:09 of the second.

Weber tied it at 2 just over three minutes later, when he fired from the top of the right circle directly from a faceoff win by Spaling.

Legwand scored on a rebound to put Nashville ahead 3-2 at 6:54 of the third to cap a scrum around the Chicago net.

Saad tied it at 3 at 9:37 from 10 feet. After fanning on a first shot attempt, defenseman Duncan Keith swept in and fired a shot that Rinne blocked. Saad converted the rebound.

Toews put Chicago ahead 4-3 at 10:32. Kane’s goal with 32 seconds left completed the scoring.

Game notes

Before the game, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said that Sharp could return this week. When asked about Bolland’s condition, he said, “We don’t think it’s serious.” … Nashville C Paul Gaustad missed a second game with an upper body injury. … Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, who played for the Blackhawks and worked in their front office, attended the game.

The post Blackhawks win, become first team to clinch playoff spot appeared first on IdealCapper.

Instead, New Orleans’ first overall draft choice sent the Boston Celtics out of the Big Easy with the sick feeling that accompanies a lost lead in the dying seconds.

Davis outreached Kevin Garnett and Jeff Green for a last-second tip-in, and the Hornets snapped a four-game skid with an 87-86 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday night.

“His first game-winner comes on night when he’s sick and puking and doesn’t feel his best,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “So kudos to him.”

Davis had missed the morning shootaround with an upset stomach. He was listed as a game-time decision and wound up with nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 28 minutes.

Ryan Anderson scored 21 points and Eric Gordon 18 for the Hornets. Gordon’s floater to win it in the waning seconds missed, but Davis followed up for the winner.

“I was really tired, but I knew my team needed me, so I was trying to fight through it,” Davis said. “I’m glad I did. It was a big win for us.”

Paul Pierce scored 11 of his 28 points in the last six minutes to nearly lead Boston back from a nine-point deficit, but missed a jumper with 16 seconds left that could have put the Celtics up by three.

Garnett, returning from a two game absence caused by a left thigh injury and the flu, scored 20 points to go with six rebounds, but took the blame after Boston’s second-straight loss for not picking Davis up in time.

“It was my block-out. I was trying to help Avery (Bradley)” defend Gordon’s drive, Garnett said. “That’s just when you’re trying to help a teammate and you’re reacting. … I’m acting off impulse as a big man to try to block shots and protect the basket and (Davis) took advantage.”

Davis said he was unaware of who stood in his way for the winning tip.

“I was just following like I was supposed to,” Davis said. “I just saw the ball. I wasn’t looking at nobody else.”

The Celtics got the ball back one last time with 0.3 on the clock, and Pierce inbounded to Garnett, who could not get off a turnaround jumper before the horn.

The loss dropped Boston into seventh in the Eastern Conference, 3½ games behind Brooklyn for the fourth seed, which carries with it home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets beat Dallas, while fifth-place Atlanta beat Milwaukee to pull 1½ games ahead of the Celtics.

Boston coach Doc Rivers said the Celtics got what they deserved, adding that he could see it coming late in the second quarter when Boston “went from being a solid, good-looking team to show time.”

“We started dancing around, stopped defending. You could see our guys laughing and joking,” Rivers said. “We don’t learn because we have done this three or four times this year.”

Green, coming off a career-high 43 points in Boston’s loss to Miami on Monday night, scored 13 points, all in the first half.

Boston had been in control much of the game and led by as many as 13 after Pierce’s 3 made it 60-47 early in the third quarter.

Then Boston slumped offensively, scoring only 12 in the period, and New Orleans whittled away.

The Hornets went on a 9-2 run that included dunks by Robin Lopez and Al-Farouq Aminu, and tied the game at 65 on Anderson’s free throws late in period.

The Hornets then surged into the lead early in the fourth quarter when Brian Roberts hit a driving layup and 3. Anderson later added six straight points to put New Orleans ahead 78-69.

The momentum changed once more when Pierce worked his way inside for a layup and Garnett followed a reverse layup, igniting a 10-0 run that included four more free throws from Pierce.

After Anderson restored New Orleans’ lead with a 3, Pierce tied it with a driving two-handed dunk and followed that with a 3 to put Boston up 84-81 with 2:34 left.

That gave Pierce 11 of 15 Boston points in a span of about three-and-a-half minutes, but he finished the game with a couple of missed mid-range jumpers, giving New Orleans just enough of a window to pull out the upset.

Boston led by as many as 12 in the opening half, taking a 50-38 lead on Garnett’s layup, and the Celtics led 55-45 at halftime.

Game notes
While Austin Rivers’ broken right hand prevented him from playing against the team his father coaches, the younger Rivers said he was able to take his father out for dinner at one of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans restaurants on Tuesday. “That’s the first time I’ve ever paid for my dad,” Austin Rivers said. “The bill came and I was ready to get up. … He looked at me like, `It’s your turn now.’ It feels good. You work hard. Finally you take care of somebody that has taken care of your whole life.” … The Hornets won the teams’ only other matchup this season, 97-78 in Boston on Jan. 16. … Boston fell to 12-21 on the road and wraps up its three-game road trip with games on Friday at Dallas and Saturday at Memphis.

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Monta Ellis sank an off-balance 3-pointer just before the final buzzer to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 110-107 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

Ellis scored 27 points and handed out 13 assists, Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Bucks won in Houston for the second straight season.

Milwaukee went down to the wire again after beating Dallas 95-90 on Tuesday and losing the previous three games by no more than three points. The Bucks and Rockets were tied 105-all when Larry Sanders tipped in Ellis’ miss. James Harden tied it again on a driving layup with 35 seconds left.

Ellis rebounded Ilyasova’s miss with 23 seconds left, giving the Bucks one last chance to win it in regulation. Ellis then took a pass from Brandon Jennings and threw up the game-winner off one foot. The ball rattled around the rim before dropping in, and by then, Ellis was running to the locker room.

“I just threw it up,” Ellis said. “The buzzer went off when it was rolling around the rim. Wasn’t any need for me to come back out.”

The referees reviewed the shot and confirmed that it beat the buzzer. Jennings thought he delivered the pass too late for Ellis to get it off in time.

“But I’m kind of glad I made my move early,” Jennings said. “I didn’t have anything, so I just kicked it out to him and he hit a one-legged 3-point shot for the win.”

James Harden scored 25 points, Chandler Parsons added 20 and Omer Asik grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds for Houston, which led by 17 points in the first quarter.

“It was a bad loss,” Parsons said. “There’s no way around it. There is no way we should have lost that game.”

Mike Dunleavy had 16 points and new acquisition J.J. Redick added 14 for Milwaukee. Dunleavy thinks the Bucks learned from the late-game mistakes they made in the close losses over the past week.

“It kind of wakes you up,” Dunleavy said. “Sometimes, you can feel bad for yourself, bad for the team for a little bit. But eventually you come around on it, and say, `All right, enough of this, we’ve got to get wins.”

Jeremy Lin had 10 points and seven assists and Donatas Motiejunas scored 13 in his first start for Houston.

The Rockets made 12 of their first 13 shots and Lin had one of the early highlights, spinning a behind-the-back pass to Parsons for an easy dunk. Houston had 10 assists on its first 12 baskets, but after Asik finished an alley-oop from Parsons with a dunk, Houston went scoreless for almost three minutes.

“We just didn’t have the same spacing, pace, that we had in the beginning,” Lin said.

Jennings hit consecutive 3s and Dunleavy scored on three layups as Milwaukee mounted a 21-6 run to cut the deficit to two. It was close the rest of the way, and the lead changed hands 13 times in all until the Bucks made more plays down the stretch to win it.

“We’re just getting stops and we’re just countering on the offensive end,” Jennings said of the late-game execution. “We’re just getting easier buckets and we’re taking our time more.”

Harden played with a wrap on his left knee after he bumped into Ellis in the first half. Ellis scored seven points early in the third quarter to help Milwaukee build a seven-point lead. The Rockets quickly rallied, and Asik completed a three-point play to put Houston ahead 70-68 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Dunleavy twisted his right ankle in the last minute of the third quarter and hobbled to the locker room. He returned with just under 10 minutes left in the game and the Rockets leading 88-84.

Houston continued to misfire from 3-point range early in the final quarter and Redick’s 3-pointer near the six-minute mark put Milwaukee up 99-96. Houston went 7 for 23 from 3-point range, but blamed this loss on its poor defense at the end. The Bucks outscored the Rockets 11-2 over the final three minutes.

“Defense was not very good tonight,” Parsons said. “Bad game overall.”

Game notes

Bucks C Ekpe Udoh sprained his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return. … Ellis had six steals and leads the NBA with eight games this season with at least five. … Rookie Thomas Robinson, acquired in a trade with Sacramento last week, had a basket, a rebound, an assist and three fouls in his Houston debut. … Asik has 26 double-doubles and 39 games with double-digit rebounds this season.

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The Blackhawks set an NHL record for the best start to a season, beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Friday to give them at least one point in each of their first 17 games.

Rookie Brandon Saad’s short-handed goal early in the third period — and with 3 seconds left on a San Jose power play — snapped a 1-all tie and stood up as the game winner. Chicago (14-0-3) won its fourth straight game to break a mark set by the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks, who earned points in their first 16 games.

The Blackhawks equaled that run Tuesday with a shootout win over Vancouver.

“It’s nice to get another win and make history,” the 20-year-old Saad said. “Our group’s had a great year so far, so we never expect anything less.

“We’re celebrating the win now. I’m sure it will sink in a little bit more tomorrow, but it’s awesome to be part of history.”

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville also reflected on the record, but not for long.

“The guys should be proud of the achievement, the accomplishment,” he said. “I just think we shouldn’t be happy with where we’re at. We just want to keep trying to get better.”

Saad scored the go-ahead goal after closing in on the left wing one-on-one with San Jose defenseman Brent Burns. After a quick fake, Saad fired a shot from the circle that beat San Jose’s Antti Niemi just under the glove 2:24 into the period.

“I just took him (Burns) wide and tried to get a shot off,” Saad said. “Luckily, I beat (Niemi) glove side. Sometimes power-play guys drop back a little, and I took advantage of it.”

Burns gave Saad too much room on the play, however, according to San Jose coach Todd McLellan.

“I thought that we let a player that wasn’t very dangerous — not because he’s not talented or anything — but a player in a situation that wasn’t very dangerous skate into a primary scoring spot without even challenging him,” McLellan said.

“I’m not sure if our goalie was on the angle or not,” he added, “but I’m disappointed we didn’t challenge him earlier.”

Viktor Stalberg also scored for league-leading Chicago, which has earned a total of 31 of 34 possible points.

Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery made 26 saves to win his fourth straight start and improve to 7-0. Chicago killed all four San Jose power plays, all of which occurred in a span of less than 14 minutes late in the second and early in the third periods.

“(The record) is a notch in your belt,” Emery said. “It’s special to do something as a group.

“The start of the year is the worst time to do it, I think,” he added. “You’d rather do it at the end, but it’s great.”

Patrick Marleau scored for the Sharks, getting only his second goal in 11 games after getting nine in San Jose’s first five games.

Both Emery and Niemi were sharp throughout most of the game. But a misplay by Niemi led to Stalberg’s goal at 16:40 of the second period, and he seemed fooled on Saad’s score. Niemi stopped 32 shots.

Niemi, who was the goalie when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, also let in a couple of soft goals in a 4-1 loss to the Blackhawks at the United Center last Friday.

Chicago and San Jose faced each other for the third time in 17 days. The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 4-1 last Friday and 5-3 in San Jose on Feb. 5.

The Blackhawks had a full lineup for the first time since their season opener at Los Angeles.

Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook, forward Daniel Carcillo and goalie Corey Crawford returned from injuries. Seabrook missed Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury, and Carcillo sat out 15 games after suffering a knee injury in the season opener.

Crawford, who sat out three games with a upper-body injury, backed up Emery.

Chicago forward Marian Hossa was back after being hit in the back of the head by Vancouver forward Jannik Hansen on Tuesday and leaving early in the third period. Hansen was suspended for one game by the NHL.

Marleau broke the scoreless tie late in the first period. He connected with 14.2 seconds left to give San Jose a 1-0 lead.

Emery made a point-blank pad save on Joe Pavelski’s tip of Joe Thornton’s shot from left wing, then Marleau pounced on the rebound in the slot. Emery got his left pad on Marleau’s attempt, but the puck barely slid over the goal line.

Stalberg tied it at 1 at 16:40 of the second on a play from the left corner. From a sharp angle and with traffic in front, Stalberg whipped the puck toward Niemi. It struck the inside of Niemi’s left pad near the knee and deflected in.

Saad’s goal 2:24 into the third made it 2-1.

Then Chicago’s penalty killing and alert work by Emery helped preserve the lead.

“I thought we got better as the game went on, each and every shift,” Quenneville said. “We certainly got some energy off the penalty kill tonight, none more than getting the shortie in the third.”

Niemi was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:10 left, but Chicago kept the Sharks off the puck and off balance. Hossa missed an empty net in the final seconds.

Game notes

The 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks got off to a 12-0-4 start that season and went on to win the Stanley Cup. … The Sharks played the fifth game of a season-high six-game road trip and are 1-3-1. Chicago C Dave Bolland left the game late in the second period with an upper-body injury and is out day to day. … Despite the compressed 48-game NHL schedule, San Jose had played only one game — at St. Louis on Tuesday — since facing the Blackhawks in Chicago a week ago. … San Jose C Scott Gomez and D Justin Braun were healthy scratches. … Former Blackhawks player and current broadcaster Eddie Olczyk, a Chicago-area native, was honored in a pregame ceremony for being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

The post Advertisement Blackhawks set NHL record for best start to season appeared first on IdealCapper.

Pouliot scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, lifting the Lightning to a 6-5 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

The Lightning ended a six-game losing streak and got their first victory since Feb. 1, against Winnipeg, after opening the season at 6-1.

On the winning score, the puck bounced off the end boards and out to Pouliot, who was open in front. His wrist shot went into the net 1:19 into overtime.

“I was surprised it came back in front,” Pouliot said. “I just put my head down and went to the net. It made a weird bounce and came back out to me and I just put it in. Coming out of here with a big win like this; it’s going to be huge for us.”

Steven Stamkos also scored twice, and Purcell and Alex Killorn each had a goal for the Lightning. Anders Lindback made 25 saves.

Purcell’s goal with 11 seconds left in regulation tied it 5-all as his shot from the slot hit off the post and into the net. Purcell was camped in front of the Panthers’ net as players scrambled for control of the puck while the final seconds of regulation ticked off, and was rewarded for his effort.

“I knew the puck was going to come out to the front,” Purcell said. “I was just trying to get a little space away from the defenders, and I was luckily uncovered and I was able to one-time it on net.”

Tomas Kopecky and Jonathan Huberdeau scored third-period goals to give the Panthers a lead they couldn’t hold. Jerred Smithson, Jack Skille, and Shawn Matthias also had goals for the Panthers and Jose Theodore stopped 30 shots. Mike Weaver had two assists and Matthias also had an assist.

Florida lost its fourth straight and third in a row in overtime.

“We’re not finishing,” Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “You’re not going to get in the playoffs with 48 points. You can’t try to get a point a game; it’s just not going to work. We’ve got to find a way a more complete effort and end up with two points.”

The Panthers got two goals early in the third to build a 5-3 lead.

The tiebreaking score came on the efforts of a couple of rookies as Drew Shore passed across the crease in front to Huberdeau, who redirected it into the net at 1:53 for his sixth goal of the season. Kopecky’s shot from the right side of the net put the Panthers ahead by two at 3:24.

Stamkos’ second goal came during a 4-on-3 power play and closed the score to 5-4. His slap shot from the left circle rifled past Theodore at 7:28. Stamkos has nine goals and three assists over a seven-game point streak against the Panthers.

“At that point of the game, you have to put teams away,” Smithson said. “You have to work to get that puck out, you have to do things the hard way. We obviously didn’t do it and let another point slip away.”

Trailing 3-2, Florida tied it in the waning seconds of the second period when Smithson poked in a rebound with 5 seconds left.

The Panthers tied it 2-all in the second on Skille’s goal at 2:27. The Lightning regained the lead quickly. Stamkos pounced on a rebound in front of the Panthers net and backhanded the puck past Theodore a little over a minute later to make it 3-2.

“We never quit. That’s never a question and never will be a question and we showed it again tonight,” Stamkos said. “We finally got a bounce our way on the overtime goal. Hopefully, this sparks some momentum and will help us moving forward.”

The Panthers, who were shut out in their last game, wasted no time changing that trend, taking a 1-0 lead 48 seconds in. Weaver took a shot from just inside the blue line on the right side. Matthias deflected the puck past Lindback.

The Lightning tied it at 1 on Pouliot’s first goal. Vincent Lecavalier passed the puck from behind the net out to Pouliot in front, who wristed in into the net at 4:48. The Lightning took a 2-1 lead on Killorn’s first career goal at 6:51 of the first.

“It felt really good. It was not a great shot or anything like that, but that’s usually how the first one goes in,” Killorn said. “I’m just happy that I was able to provide for the team.”

Game notes

Panthers W Kris Versteeg missed his second consecutive game with an upper body injury. … Lindback returned in net for Tampa Bay after missing Thursday’s game against Washington because of illness. … Lecavalier has recorded a point in four straight games.

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Tyler Seguin’s goal on the first shot of the shootout was nullified because the item was thrown from the stands onto the ice toward New Jersey goalie Johan Hedberg.

So Seguin tried again — and scored again. Ilya Kovalchuk then tied it for the Devils.

After both teams failed on their next four tries, Brad Marchand scored the goal that gave the Bruins a 2-1 win Tuesday night when the final shot, by New Jersey’s Marek Zidlicky, was stopped by Tuukka Rask’s left pad.

“That’s a first,” Seguin said. “I’m still not sure what it was. Maybe a hot dog.”

One of the officials tossed it in the penalty box and had left before being asked exactly what it was.

“It looked yellow,” said Seguin, whose first shot went over Hedberg’s left arm and whose second cleared the goalie’s right arm.

His goal set the stage for Marchand’s game-winner between Hedberg’s pads. It gave the Bruins a 5-0-1 record for an Eastern Conference-best 11 points.

They also opened the 1970-71 season with 11 points, the last time they earned at least one in each of their first six games.

“We’ve played some pretty good hockey so far,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “And the games that weren’t quite as good as we should have been, we found a way to win. And to be a good team you’ve got to be able to do that.”

Marchand did, scoring the first shootout goal of his career.

“All I could hear was (Seguin) saying, `go high, go high,’ `’ he said, “but I just kind of blacked out. I don’t know what happened. … I’m serious. I blacked out.”

Nathan Horton’s goal with 4:05 left in the third period had forced overtime after David Clarkson scored on a power play at 8:30 of the second period.

But the game came down to a shootout, and the Devils led the NHL last season with 12 shootout wins.

“They got it this time,” Hedberg said. “I think it’s sort of a tossup when you get to a shootout.”

The Devils remained unbeaten in regulation but fell to 3-0-2.

“We made a couple of mistakes at the end and we’ve got to control the puck a little bit better,” New Jersey’s Patrik Elias said. “They have big guys up front and in the back, too, and it’s tough to get some opportunities to make some plays on that space.”

The victory was Boston’s second in two nights in which it took the lead late in the game. In Monday night’s 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, David Krejci scored the tiebreaking goal on a pass from rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton with 1:50 left. Seguin added an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining.

The Devils were coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal in which they erased a 3-1 Canadiens lead in the third period.

“Our game in Montreal was a little inconsistent,” New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said. “Tonight we were solid for 65 minutes.”

Clarkson’s fourth goal of the season came on a 50-footer from the left after he skated with the puck from the middle of the blue line.

Travis Zajac crossed in front of Rask, screening the shot that went in the upper right corner of the net. That made the Bruins the last team to allow a power-play goal this season after 23 successful penalty kills.

Clarkson had another scoring bid early in the third period when he fired the puck from the left circle. But Rask gloved it after stopping it with his chest while Krejci was in the penalty box for interfering with Hedberg.

Horton’s scoring play started when Krejci brought the puck out of his own zone and passed it to Milan Lucic, who carried it over the left side of the Devils’ blue line.

Lucic passed it to Krejci in the middle and he immediately passed it to Horton, who shot a 20-footer from the right past Hedberg, playing for the first time this season after Martin Brodeur started the Devils’ other four games.

“You’re down a goal, you’re down two goals, it doesn’t matter,” Horton said. “You just work hard and fight back.”

Rask returned for the Bruins after sitting out Monday night’s win, the first game he missed this season.

Game notes

Bruins LW Chris Bourque, son of retired Boston star Ray Bourque, turned 27 Tuesday. … Kovalchuk has 41 points in 41 games against the Bruins after going scoreless. … For the Devils, 30-year-old Matt Anderson played in his first NHL game after being called up from Albany of the AHL, where he had seven goals and 13 assists in 39 games this season.

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