NHL Recap: April 5, 2013 – Jokinen, Bouwmeester Contribute To Wins For New Clubs

There were 5 games in the NHL outside to Ottawa’s 4-2 loss to the Sabres.  Two more new additions made big impacts on their new teams.  Here is a quick tour around the league:

Feb 8, 2012; San Jose, CA, USA; Calgary Flames goalie

(34) saves a shot from San Jose Sharks center

(8) during the third period at HP Pavilion. Calgary defeated San Jose 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

1. Jussi Jokinen scored the Pittsburgh goal in regulation and also netted the only goal in the shootout as the Penguins downed the Rangers 2-1.  Rick Nash had the New York goal as the Rangers moved up to the 7th seed with the single point.  Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves in the Penguins net while Henrik Lundqvist replied with 26 stops.
2. Jay Bouwmeester had two assists in the Blues’ 3-1 win over Columbus.  Chris Stewart scored on the power play, David Backes had the winner at even strength and Patrik Berglund iced it with a short-handed emtpy net marker with 1 second remaining to ice the game.  Artem Anisimov scored the Blue Jackets’ goal, assisted by Marian Gaborik.  The win moved St. Louis 3 points up on Columbus and Edmonton in the 8th seed as they have now created a slight gap in the race for the final playoff spot.
3. Pavel Datsyuk‘s second goal of the game with 16 seconds left in overtime was the winner as the Red Wings downed the Avalanche 3-2.  Gustav Nyquist had the other goal for Detroit, while Henrik Zetterberg had two assists.  Mark Olver and P.A. Parenteau scored for Colorado.  Jimmy Howard made 33 stops for the win, as Detroit moved 4 points up on 9th place, staying in the 7th seed.
4. Alex Chiasson scored his first career NHL goal in the Stars 3-1 win over the Ducks.  Lane MacDermid scored in his second straight game after coming over from the Bruins and Eric Nystrom scored shorthanded to round  out the scoring for the Stars.  Andrew Cogliano scored the only Anaheim goal, as they failed to make up ground on the Blackhawks for the top seed in the West, still trailing the Hawks by 3 points.
5. San Jose won their 7th straight game, scoring twice in the third period to beat the Flames  2-1.  Dan Boyle scored early in the final frame and Joe Pavelski won it with just over 2 minutes left to send the Sharks’ faithful home happy.  Mikael Backlund scored late in the first to give the Flames the lead, while Miikka Kiprusoff was stellar making 39 saves despite taking the loss.

That concludes our tour around the NHL.  There are 10 games around the league on Saturday, including a number of big games that will directly affect the Eastern Conference playoff race. Check back tomorrow for a full recap.