Boston, MA (My Sportsbook) - Marek Zidlicky tallied the game's lone goal and Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, as Minnesota slipped past Boston, 1-0, at TD Banknorth Garden. Backstrom recorded his second consecutive blanking for the Wild, who have won three of four. The Finnish-born netminder shut down Colorado, 2-0, on Sunday in Denver. Former Wild netminder Manny Fernandez stopped 23 shots for the Bruins, who have dropped two in a row after a 10-game win streak.
Final Score: Buffalo 4, Ottawa 2
Buffalo, NY (My Sportsbook) - Matt Ellis and Drew Stafford were among four different goal scorers, as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators, 4-2, at HSBC Arena. Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek also registered a goal for the Sabres, who have won three straight games. Ryan Miller made 31 saves in the win. The Sabres will host the New York Rangers on Friday before they begin a three-game road trip. Jason Spezza scored both goals for Ottawa, which is winless in 2009 (0-2-1) and will conclude its eight-game road swing in Boston on Thursday. Alex Auld allowed three goals on 25 shots in the loss.
Final Score: Washington 2, Philadelphia 1 (SO)
Washington, DC (My Sportsbook) - Viktor Kozlov scored the game-winner in the shootout as the Washington Capitals won a hard-fought battle against the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, at Verizon Center. Kozlov was the first shooter and he lifted a backhander over Martin Biron. Jose Theodore then made pad saves on Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to preserve the win. Nicklas Backstrom scored the goal in regulation while Theodore finished the game with 33 saves for the red-hot Capitals, who have won seven straight and are 18-1-1 at home this season. Washington reached its mid-point of the regular season and has a record of 27-11-3, good for a 10-point lead over Carolina for first place in the Southeast Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference. Braydon Coburn scored the lone goal while Biron stopped 33 shots in the loss for the Flyers, who finished a season-high six- game road trip with a mark of 2-2-2.
Final Score: Carolina 3, New Jersey 2
Raleigh, NC (My Sportsbook) - Cam Ward made 25 saves and Tuomo Ruutu netted the game-winner, as the Carolina Hurricanes fended off the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, at the RBC Center. Ray Whitney and Sergei Samsonov also scored for the Hurricanes, who are riding a season-high four-game winning streak and have earned points in 12 of their last 15 outings (9-3-3). Patrik Elias registered a goal and an assist for the Devils, who had won four of five coming in. Scott Clemmensen was beaten three times on 28 shots.
Final Score: Florida 4, Toronto 2
Toronto, ON (My Sportsbook) - Tomas Vokoun made 24 saves to help the Florida Panthers to a 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Stephen Weiss, Gregory Campbell and Ville Peltonen each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who have won two of their last three. Michael Frolik also lit the lamp in the win. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jason Blake each had a goal for the Maple Leafs, who have dropped two of three. Vesa Toskala gave up four goals on 34 shots.
Final Score: Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 1
Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Petr Sykora tallied twice to lead Pittsburgh past Atlanta, 3-1, at Mellon Arena. Sidney Crosby also scored while Evgeni Malkin added three assists for the Penguins, who snapped a five-game losing streak and recovered from embarrassing losses to Florida on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Monday. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots to post his first win since December 26 at New Jersey. Ilya Kovalchuk scored for the Thrashers, who have dropped six of seven. Kari Lehtonen was dented for all three goals on 29 shots in defeat.
Final Score: Detroit 3, Columbus 0
Detroit, MI (My Sportsbook) - Ty Conklin used 23 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season, as the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-0, at Joe Louis Arena. Pavel Datsyuk tallied a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who won their fourth consecutive game and will host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterberg also scored in the win. Steve Mason allowed two goals on 39 shots for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped two straight after a four-game win streak. Columbus will conclude its six-game road trip in Washington on Friday.
Final Score: Colorado 2, Nashville 1
Nashville, TN (My Sportsbook) - Wojtek Wolski scored twice to help the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Milan Hejduk set up both of Wolski's goals and Andrew Raycroft was sharp between the pipes for the Avalanche, who limped into the Music City on a three-game losing streak. Raycroft won his fifth straight start with a 22-save performance and is 7-1-0 in limited duty this season. Rookie left wing Ryan Jones had the lone goal for Nashville, which has lost a season-high five games in a row and 10 of 13 overall. Pekka Rinne was solid for the Predators, allowing two goals on 21 shots.
Final Score: Chicago 6, Phoenix 0
Glendale, AZ (My Sportsbook) - Cristobal Huet made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Chicago Blackhawks dominated the Phoenix Coyotes, 6-0. Jonathan Toews had two goals and an assist while Adam Burish added a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks, who have won their last two games. Mikael Tellqvist started the game in net, but was pulled after the first period as he allowed four goals on 13 shots for the Coyotes, who have dropped three of five. Ilja Bryzgalov finished the game between the pipes and allowed two goals on 28 shots. Phoenix played its 41st game of the season and is 19-17-5, good for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
Final Score: Calgary 5, San Jose 2
Calgary, AB (My Sportsbook) - Daymond Langkow scored twice to lead the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in a battle of Western Conference powers at Saddledome. Curtis Glencross, Mark Giordano and David Moss also scored for the Flames, who have won five straight home games and captured their sixth victory in the last seven contests overall. Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 26 shots in the victory. Ryane Clowe and Mike Grier scored for the Sharks, who failed to earn at least one standings point for only the fifth time this season (29-5-5). Evgeni Nabokov started for the Sharks and allowed four goals on 18 shots before he was pulled in the second period. Brian Boucher made nine saves in relief.
Final Score: Anaheim 3, Los Angeles 1
Anaheim, CA (My Sportsbook) - Sami Pahlsson netted the game-winner in the third period and Jonas Hiller needed to make only 17 saves in notching his second straight win, as the Anaheim Ducks took the opener of a home-and-home set with the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1, at Honda Center. Hiller was coming off a 2-0 shutout of Phoenix Sunday, improving to 10-6-1 this season as a solid second option to entrenched starter Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Pahlsson, Bobby Ryan and Rob Niedermayer came up with the goals for Anaheim, which now has wins in three of its last five. Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger each had two assists. The Ducks finished a four-game homestand 2-1-1 and improved to 12-8-3 at Honda Center this year. Kyle Quincey scored the lone goal for the Kings, who got 23 saves out of Erik Ersberg in a losing effort, their second in the last three games.
