On a night when frustrations were high over the Senators’ 3-2 loss in Florida, a pair of former Sens goalies were on the good end of 1-0 games, and the standings continued to tighten up around the Sens. There were 8 other games around the league, and here is a quick recap of them all:
Apr 9, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery (30) makes a save on Minnesota Wild forward Jason Pominville (29) and forward Kyle Brodziak (21) during the third period at the Xcel Energy Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
- The Flyers scored first, courtesy of Jakub Voracek, but it was all Islanders after that as New York moved into a 6th place tie with Ottawa after the 4-1 win. New York’s top line of John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Brad Boyes combined for 2 goals and 6 points, with Tavares and Moulson scoring.Michael Grabner and Casey Cizikas had the others, to pretty much end any playoff hopes the Flyers might have been harboring.
- Pittsburgh got goals from 5 different players in their 5-2 win over Carolina to extend their Eastern Conference lead to 5 points over the Canadiens. Robert Bortuzzo, Brenden Morrow, Beau Bennett, Evgeni Malkin and Pascal Dupuis scored for the Penguins, with Joe Corvo and Riley Nash counting for the Canes.
- Washington stayed 2 points up on the Jets with a 3-2 win over the Canadiens. Alex Ovechkin scored again, with grinders Eric Fehr and Jack Hillen also scoring. Lars Eller had both Montreal goals, as they failed to gain ground on the Bruins, who are still just a point back in the Northeast Division.
- Winnipeg kept themselves in the playoff hunt in both the Division and the Conference with a 4-1 win over Buffalo. Aaron Gagnon‘s first NHL goal proved to be the winner, with Kyle Wellwood, Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler also scoring. Kevin Porter was the lone Sabre to beat Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 29 shots. Winnipeg is tied for 8th in the East with the NYR and trail the Caps by 2 in the Southeast.
- Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves to shut out the Sharks 4-0. Marian Gaborik had a goal and an assist, while Matt Calvert, James Wisniewski and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets. Columbus moved back to within 2 points of 8th place Detroit in the race for the final playoff spot in the West.
- Brian Elliott made just 15 saves, but that was all he needed to do to shut out the Predators 1-0. Alex Steen‘s 2nd period goal was the difference, as the Blues are now 5 points clear of 9th place and sit in the 6th seed as of today.
- Marian Hossa‘s second period goal stood up as the winner as Ray Emery made 20 saves for the shutout, a 1-0 win over the Wild. Minnesota drops to the 7th seed, 4 points back of the Canucks in the Northwest Division. Chicago opened up a 5 point lead on Anaheim for the top seed in the West.
- Ray Whitney and Vernon Fiddler each scored twice in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie and help the Stars beat the Kings 5-1. Alex Goligoski had tied the game at 1 in the first period to tie it up after Drew Doughty had given the Stars a 1-0 lead. Despite dealing the likes of Derek Roy, Jaromir Jagr and Brenden Morrow, the Stars are still scratching and clawing to stay in the playoff race. They are tied with Columbus, just 2 points back of Detroit for the 8th playoff spot.
That concludes our tour around the NHL for Tuesday night. Two games with playoff implications in the East on Wednesday, featuring Toronto in New York to play the 8th place Rangers, and Boston in New Jersey to play the 10th place Devils. The Senators need some help to keep afloat in the race for 8th, and will be looking to a couple of divisional rivals to help their cause. Check back tomorrow for a full recap.