NHL Roundup: Golden Knights lose Jack Eichel, Leafs edge Hurricanes, Flyers win for Claude Giroux, and more
Anthony Scultore
|
NHL Roundup for Thursday, March 17, 2022 recaps all 10 games on the docket.
It was an emotional night in Philadelphia for Claude Giroux as he played his 1000th game as a member of the Flyers. The team got him a big win over the Nashville Predators and then they watched as he took his final lap on the ice waving goodbye.
Plus the Maple Leafs win in a big Eastern Conference showdown against the Carolina Hurricanes and despite a Golden Knights win, they lose Jack Eichel to injury.
Golden Knights 5, Panthers 3
Nicolas Roy scored the go-ahead goal with 6:37 remaining and Logan Thompson made 33 saves as the Vegas Golden Knights snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Vegas prevailed despite losing center Jack Eichel to an upper-body injury.
The Golden Knights, already playing without eight regulars including captain Mark Stone, wingers Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith and goaltender Robin Lehner, played without Eichel the entire third period.
Eichel got hit in the right wrist area blocking a MacKenzie Weegar shot with five minutes to go in the second period. He went to the locker room briefly, bent over and holding his arm, before returning to finish the period.
“He didn’t come back, so obviously that’s not good,” Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. “He’ll get evaluated and we’ll know more (Friday).”
Evgenii Dadonov scored two goals and Brett Howden and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, which had absorbed five consecutive regulation losses for first time in franchise history. Thompson, making his fourth NHL start, picked up his second career victory.
Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored and Aaron Ekblad registered three assists for Florida, which had a seven-game point streak snapped (6-0-1). Spencer Knight finished with 28 saves.
Oilers 6, Sabres 1
Connor McDavid extended his multi-point streak to four games with a goal and an assist as Edmonton routed visiting Buffalo.
Kailer Yamamoto and Tyson Barrie also each had a goal and an assist for the Oilers, who won their fourth straight. Mike Smith made 27 saves.
Victor Olofsson scored and Craig Anderson made 30 saves for the Sabres, who lost for the first time in three games.
Penguins 3, Blues 2 (SO)
Bryan Rust scored the shootout winner to lift Pittsburgh past host St. Louis.
Chad Ruhwedel and Mike Matheson scored in regulation for the Penguins, and Tristan Jarry made 23 saves. Jarry added two stops in the shootout, and the Blues missed the target twice.
Ivan Barbashev paced the Blues’ offense with a goal and an assist, and David Perron also scored. Ville Husso, who finished with 43 saves, stopped the first three Penguins attempts in the shootout before Rust beat him.
Maple Leafs 3, Hurricanes 2
Erik Kallgren made 34 saves in his second career NHL start and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Thursday night, stopping the Metropolitan Division leaders from taking the Eastern Conference lead.
Kallgren earned a shutout against the Dallas Stars in his first NHL start on Tuesday. He made his debut with 30 minutes of relief on March 10 in an overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
“It’s been one of the most eventful weeks of my life so, there’s been a lot going on,” said Kallgren. “It’s surreal, but I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
Ilya Mikheyev, Mitchell Marner and Ondrej Kase scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won two in a row and sit five points behind the conference-leading Florida Panthers.
Ethan Bear and Vincent Trocheck scored for the Hurricanes, who have lost two straight and sit one point behind the Panthers. Former Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for Carolina.
Capitals 7, Blue Jackets 2
Anthony Mantha scored two first-period goals and visiting Washington won handily against Columbus.
Alex Ovechkin and Conor Sheary each had a goal and an assist for Washington, which has won three straight and six of seven (6-0-1). Vitek Vanecek made 39 saves.
Oliver Bjorkstrand and Patrik Laine scored for Columbus, which had won three straight. Joonas Korpisalo allowed three goals on nine shots before Elvis Merzlikins came on early in the second period and made 20 saves.
Stars 4, Canadiens 3 (OT)
John Klingberg recorded two goals, including the winner with 10 seconds remaining in overtime, as Dallas defeated host Montreal.
Jamie Benn had a three-point night, collecting a goal and two assists for Dallas. Radek Faksa scored the Stars’ other goal.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield each had a goal and an assist for Montreal. Corey Schueneman also scored for the Habs, putting the Canadiens ahead in the third period on his first career NHL goal.
Islanders 2, Rangers 1
Kyle Palmieri scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:44 remaining to lift the visiting Islanders past the rival Rangers in a matchup of New York foes.
After Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren was elbowed in the face by Zdeno Chara, the Islanders moved the puck up the right side. Ryan Pulock made a pass from near the right circle, Palmieri gained possession of the bouncing puck in front of the crease, batted it out of mid-air and lifted it over goalie Igor Shesterkin.
Palmieri’s 11th goal lifted the Islanders to the fourth win in five games (4-0-1) and capped a physical affair that saw both teams produce several chances and get timely saves from their goaltenders.
Flyers 5, Predators 4
Joel Farabee scored the go-ahead goal at 18:41 of the third period to lift host Philadelphia past Nashville.
Farabee also had an assist while Kevin Hayes and Travis Sanheim each added one goal and one assist for the Flyers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. The Flyers held a lengthy pregame ceremony to honor captain Claude Giroux before competing in his 1,000th career game with the franchise.
“During the game I was trying to keep it together…tonight was pretty awesome,” Giroux said. “The fans, the organization, and my teammates have been so good to me for so many years.”
Tanner Jeannot, Phil Myers, Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg each scored one goal for the Predators. Roman Josi had three assists, propelling his season total to 52. Predators goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots.
Giroux will be held out of the lineup until a trade is completed. The Panthers are considered the frontrunners with the Avalanche behind them.
Kings 3, Sharks 0
Cal Petersen made 29 saves and the Los Angeles Kings avoided a season sweep by the visiting San Jose Sharks with a 3-0 win on Thursday.
It was the second shutout in the past four games and third overall this season for Petersen, who came in with one win in his previous six starts against the Sharks.
Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault and Adrian Kempe scored, and Sean Durzi had two assists for the Kings, who had lost the previous three meetings against the Sharks this season and nine of 11 over the past two years.
James Reimer made 24 saves for the Sharks, who were trying to earn at least a point in five straight games for the first time this season.
Red Wings 1, Canucks 0
Alex Nedeljkovic made 43 saves as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the host Vancouver Canucks 1-0 Thursday night.
Pius Suter scored the lone goal, in the second period, as the Red Wings snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-1).
It was Nedeljkovic’s second shutout of the season and the fifth of his NHL career. His save total was the highest in a shutout by a Detroit goaltender since Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk stopped 50 in a game against the New York Rangers in 1959.
Thatcher Demko stopped 34 of 35 shots but the Canucks lost ground in the Western Conference’s wild-card chase. Vancouver’s J.T. Miller had his 13-game points streak snapped two games shy of the franchise record.
–Field Level Media contributed to this report