NHL Three Stars: Panthers 4 goal comeback; Flyers move up; Penguins clinch
No. 1 Star: Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Midway through the second period, the Panthers were down 3-0 to the hapless Montreal Canadiens. Then the one they call Sasha led the Cats to a four goal comeback. Barkov registered 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. His second goal came with 28.1 seconds left to seal the game for Florida.
No. 2 Star: Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers
Simmonds factored into all 3 Flyers goals, all scored on the power play, in the team’s 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators; Jakub Voracek assisted on both of Simmonds goals. With the win, Philly leapfrogs Boston in the standings for the final Wild Card spot in the East.
No. 3 Star: James Reimer, San Jose Sharks
According to the Nashville broadcast, Reimer is the only goaltender to defeat the Nashville Predators in the shootout this season, and he’s done it twice. He stopped all shooters in the Sharks comeback victory.
Honorable Mention: Mike Condon made 35 saves in the loss to Florida. Nick Bjugstad was credited with 8 shots on goal. Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad had two points each in the Panthers comeback … Erik Karlsson earned his 64 assist in the loss to the Flyers. Steve Mason had 33 saves. Claude Giroux was 13-of-18 on the faceoff dot … Nashville was up 2-0 on the Sharks going into the third period. Tomas Hertl scored both goals – with assists from Joe Thornton – tie the game for San Jose.
San Jose had 40 shots on goal, 24 shots blocked, and 17 missed shots … Congrats to Oskar Sundqvist for scoring his first NHL goal shorthanded in the Pittsburgh Penguins dominating 5-0 win over the New York Islanders. Sidney Crosby earned his 600th career assist on Patric Hornqvist’s power play goal. Matt Murray earned his first career shutout with 24 saves. The Penguins clinched a playoff spot with the win; the 10th straight for the franchise, second longest streak behind Detroit … Ryan O’Reilly scored 2 goals in the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. Jack Eichel assisted on one of O’Reilly’s goals and it was a beauty.
… The Detroit Red Wings desperately needed a win against the Toronto Maple Leafs to stay in the playoff hunt; they got it by a score of 3-2. Mike Green and Brad Richards had a goal and an assist in the win. Jimmy Howard earned his 13th win of the season with 32 saves. William Nylander picked up his 6th goal of the season for the Leafs … Ben Bishop improved his record to 34-20-4 in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils. Nikita Kucherov had a 3 point night with a goal and 2 assists … The brothers Benn scored one goal each as the Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2; Jamie Benn’s goal was his 41st and Jordie Benn’s was his 2nd of the season. Despite taking the loss, Jonathan Quick had a stellar 36 save game. Watch him rob the Stars with a paddle save:
… Brandon Saad earned his first career hat trick against the Carolina Hurricanes. Sonny Milano recorded his first NHL point on Saad’s second goal of the game. Joonas Korpisalo had 26 saves for his 15th win of the year in the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 win … Mike Smith earned his 30th career shutout in the Arizona Coyotes 3-0 win over the Washington Capitals. Max Domi assisted on the first and third goals by the Coyotes, and had a quality scrap with Jeff Schultz … In the final Battle of Alberta game at Rexall Place, the Calgary Flames dominated the Edmonton Oilers 5-0. Joni Ortio made 28 saves for the second shutout of his career. Mikael Backlund scored 2 goals and 1 assist for Calgary. Johnny Gaudreau also had 2 goals. The second tally of the game was his 30th of the season.
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Dishonorable Mention: Nazem Kadri may or may not get suspended for cross-checking Luke Glendening in the head. The Leafs announced Milan Michalek will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury … Henrik Lundqvist was pulled 46-seconds into the second period after allowing 3 goals on 9 shots. The New York Rangers were gifted a full two-minute 5-on-3 late in the third and came up empty … With the Flyers win, the Devils are officially out of the playoff race. Steven Stamkos is out one to three months with a blood clot in his right arm … Mattias Janmark is expected to miss some time after suffering an upper body injury against the Kings. The penalty box official was having none of Antoine Roussel’s sass and ‘shh’ed’ him:
… Cody Goloubef played only 2:05 against Carolina. He didn’t see another shift on the ice after Jeff Skinner undressed him, hockey-wise, on the ice … Todd McLellan just realized what life is like in Edmonton in April:
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.
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