NHL Scores: Blues beat Sharks in goal fest, William Nylander heats up for Maple Leafs, and a recap of all 14 games on Saturday
Anthony Scultore
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Yesterday was a full docket of hockey for those who can’t get enough goals and saves. Fourteen total games were on tap and none of them disappointed. Let’s get to all the action.
NHL Scores: Central Division Results
The Lightning (14-4-1) shutout the Stars (6-6-4) by a 5-0 count. Tampa had five different goal scorers in the contest including Steven Stamkos who picked up his 10th on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up another shutout and the victory ties Tampa with Florida for first place in the division.
“That’s how amazing he is,” Stamkos said of his goalie. “We just try to make it as easy for him as we can, but he’s the best goalie in the world for a reason, and he’s showing it.”
Tampa was helped by the Hurricanes (13-6-1) who beat the Panthers (13-4-3) in a shootout by the score of 4-3 in order to move in for the first place tie. In other Central Division action, the Predators (9-11) beat a struggling Blue Jackets (8-9-5) team 2-1 on the strength of two Mattias Ekholm goals (1,2). And the Red Wings (7-13-3) beat the Blackhawks (11-7-4) 5-3.
NHL Scores: North Division Results
The Oilers (14-9) were climbing up the standings, but the Maple Leafs (16-4-2) even without Auston Matthews kept that at bay with a James Campbell shutout 4-0. William Nylander opened the scoring with his 8th of the season. It was his third goal in two games.
“Everything really came up Leafs here tonight,” Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe said. “We got great goaltending, our power play was perfect, and our penalty kill didn’t have to work today, so it’s a real good win for us today.”
The struggling Canadiens (9-6-5) stopped the bleeding and picked up a point in their 2-1 OT loss to the Jets (13-6-1). They stay a point above the Flames (10-10-2) for fourth who picked up a 6-3 win over the Senators (7-15-1). Matthew Tkachuk closed out the Calgary scoring with his 7th of the year.
NHL Scores: East Division Results
The East was thought to be the toughest division coming into this season and it is living up to the billing. The Capitals (11-5-4) on the strength of a 5-2 win over the Devils (7-7-2) are now in first place with 26 points. That puts them two points up over the Bruins who play today at Noon against the Rangers.
Brian Elliott notched a 3-0 shutout for the Flyers (10-4-3) over the basement dwelling Sabres (6-9-3) to stay tied for fourth place with 23 points. That was a needed win as the Penguins (11-7-1) came back in the third and beat the Islanders (10-6-4) 4-3 in OT thanks to Kris Letang’s second of the game.
“They’re all big, those games against this team,” Letang said afterwards. “They’re going to be a team we’re going to battle until the end of the season to get in the playoffs.”
The OTL moves the Islanders into a tie with the Bruins who have 24 points. If the Rangers can beat the Bruins today, they would be just four points out of the final playoff spot. A tight division indeed.
NHL Scores: West Division Results
The Blues (11-8-2) outlasted the Sharks (7-9-2) in a 13 goal bonanza by a final of 7-6. San Jose got two goals apiece from Timo Meier and Evander Kane, but that wasn’t enough with Marco Scandella scoring his first two goals of the season for St. Louis including the game-winner.
“Coming off three losses, to have a game like this, a lot of emotions obviously,” Scandella explained after the Blues breathed a sigh of relief. “Guys getting into it, a lot of goals today, it was up and down. I feel like it was the perfect way to get off that losing streak.”
The Blues win helps them keep pace with the Wild (12-6) who won in OT over the Kings (9-7-4) 4-3. Matt Dumba scored his 4th in the extra session as the hold second place with St. Louis.
Colorado jumped over L.A. for fourth as Nathan MacKinnon started the goal barrage for the Avalanche (11-6-1). They beat the Coyotes (9-9-3) soundly by a 6-2 score. And lastly, William Karlsson wins it OT for the Golden Knights (12-4-1) over the Ducks (6-10-5) 3-2. Vegas sits atop the division with 25 points.