NHL Recap: Mar 3rd, 2013 – Hawks’ Kane is Clutch; Flames Down Weary Canucks

A busy Sunday with 9 games on the NHL schedule, 8 outside of Ottawa’s shootout loss to the Islanders.  The Blackhawks extend one NHL record and set their sights on another, while the Canucks’ travlel plans made for and interesting night against the Flames.  Here is a quick recap of all the action:

March 3, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) scores the game winning goal on Detroit Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (35) during a shoot out at the Joe Louis Arena. Chicago won 2-1 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

1. In one of the most exciting games of the season to date, Detroit and Chicago played scoreless hockey for 53 minutes until Detroit’s Tomas Tatar scored the opening goal and it looked like the Chicago points streak was in jeopardy.  However, a late delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass with 2:25 left gave the Hawks an opportunity to tie it up.  And that is exactly what Patrick Kane did with 2:02 left, as he was left alone at the side of the slot and roofed a loose puck past Jimmy Howard to guarantee the streak would continue.  After a scoreless overtime, Kane would ice the win as well, scoring the only goal of the shootout.  Corey Crawford stopped 32 of 33 shots and then all 3 shooters for the win. The Hawks tied the 1977-78 Montreal Candiens for the second longest points streak overall, and are 7 back of the 1979-80 Flyers for the longest point streak of all time.
2. Ryan O’Reilly made his season debut for the Avalanche and actually deflected the game tying goal into his own net as Colorado fell 2-1 in overtime to the Blue Jackets.  Vinny Prospal was credited for the goal while Columbus was on the power play, after leaving the game earlier in the night with an injury.  Artem Anisimov scored the winner in overtime, also on the power play.  P.A. Parenteau had given Colorado a 1-0 lead in the second period.
3. Brian Elliott allowed 4 goals on 27 shots in his first start in almost 3 weeks, and the Blues lost 4-1 to the Stars.  Erik Cole had his first as a Star, and he was joined by Derek Roy, Loui Eriksson and Jaromir Jagr on the score sheet.  Roy added two assists in the win.  David Perron scored the lone Blues goal.
4. Carolina won the game, but lost their starting goaltender in their 3-2 win over the Panthers.  Cam Ward left the game just prior to the mid-way point with a lower body injury while ahead 3-0, and the Canes hung on despite Jonathan Huberdeau‘s 2 goals on Dan Ellis to make it close.  Justin Faulk, Alexander Semin and Jordan Staal scored for the Canes, who opened up a 4 point lead in the Southeast Division.
5. Montreal scored twice in the third period to overcome a 3-2 deficit to beat the Bruins 4-3 in a wild affair.  Brad Marchand had 3 assists for the Bruins, setting up Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Dougie Hamilton,  but it wasn’t enough.  David Desharnais‘ second of the game proved to be the winner, with the Habs getting singles from Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. It was a rough affair, with Zdeno Chara jumping Alexei Emelin after the Hab cross-checked Seguin in the ribs, and also featured a fight between Milan Lucic and Brandon Prust.
6. Patrick Kaleta received a 5 minute major for checking Brad Richards from behind, and the Rangers made the Sabres pay, scoring twice on the ensuing power play to take a 2-1 lead in the third period.  However, Nathan Gerbe scored shorthanded just before the penalty ended to tie the game, which the Rangers eventually won in a shootout.  Drew Stafford had the other Buffalo goal, while Derek Stepan and Rick Nash counted for the Rangers.  Nash and Ryan Callahan secured the extra point with shootout goals, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped both Buffalo shooters.
7. Minnesota used 3 third period goals to upend the Oilers 4-2, holding the Oilers to 0 shots on goal in the second period in doing so.  Jared Spurgeon, Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle and Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, while Magnus Paajarvi and Sam Gagner (both from behind the goal line) each banked shots off Wild players to score for Edmonton.
8. With the Cancuks not landing in Calgary until 2 hours before the game, thier routine was far from it as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Flames.  The winning goal was scored by Jarome Iginla one second after a minor penalty assessed to Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault for abuse of officials had expired.  Michael Cammalleri had a pair for the Flames, the second coming into the empty net, and Lee Stempniak had the other for the Flames, while Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen countered for the Canucks.  After the game, a very upset Vigneault stated that he was given a penalty simply for saying “that’s an elbow” to the referee in response to a Matt Stajan elbow on Chris Tanev that went unpunished.

That concludes our tour around the league, check back tomorrow for a recap of the 4 games scheduled for Monday night.