Game Recap - Hockey Wiretap
Wild End Eight-Game Losing Streak
Dany Heatley scored his third goal in four games to help the Wild snap out of their eight-game losing skid and beat the Oilers 4-3 on Thursday night.
"At some point, enough is enough," Niklas Backstrom said.
Mikko Koivu, Jarod Palmer and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also scored for the Wild, who went 0-5-3 following a seven-game winning streak.
Rangers Beat Flyers, Tie For Division Lead
After three wins in four nights against Atlantic Division foes, the Rangers are more than happy to be at the top of their division.
Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves in his second win over powerful Philadelphia this season, and rookie defenseman Stu Bickel had two more assists for the Rangers, who beat the Flyers 4-2 on Friday night.
Though only 33 of 82 games have been played, the Rangers trail just the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins in the Eastern Conference -- and the gap is one point.
"There is something to be said for that," captain Ryan Callahan said. "We're right there at the top, and that gives us confidence going forward. There's still a lot of hockey to be played, and we haven't seen our best yet."
Bruins Win 8-0, Move To Top Of East
The Bruins defeated the Panthers 8-0 on Friday night to move atop the standings in the Eastern Conference.
Brad Marchand had his first career hat trick and a career-high five points to lead Boston.
The Bruins won their sixth consecutive game and their most lopsided win of the season. Boston has won 20 of its last 23 games.
"Everyone's playing the same level as last year," Marchand said. "We need to keep it going the whole year. That's the goal right now."
Dubinsky Ends 17-Game Goal Drought
The Rangers topped the Islanders 4-2 on Thursday night thanks to a team effort.
Brandon Dubinsky staked the Rangers to their first lead, scoring for the first time in 17 games -- dating to Nov. 11 -- and Marian Gaborik and Michael Del Zotto connected in the second for New York, which has won three straight.
Kadri Scores First Goal Of Season In Win
Nazem Kadri scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lead the Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over the Sabres on Thursday night.
"He made plays," coach Ron Wilson said. "He was good along the wall in our zone and that's what he has to do. He sees the ice and skates, he's got confidence and distributes the puck really well."
Recalled from Toronto of the AHL the previous day after a 22-game stay in the minors, Kadri got his first goal of the season when he scored off Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller's glove at 5:52 of the third.
Kadri, a first-round draft pick in 2009, also got some nice words from Wilson after his fourth goal in 34 career NHL games.
"He's been pretty supportive and kind of giving me the encouragement to play with the puck," Kadri said. "I think he knows that I've learned how to recognize danger and when to try and make a play and when not to. After I scored that goal, he just came up to me and he told me, 'Don't change a thing. You're playing great.'"
Luongo Records First Shutout Of Season
Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo made 33 saves on Monday night against the Wild, recording his first shutout of this season.
Luongo has struggled with his play and with injuries this fall.
"It takes every guy in this locker room to get a shutout, and the boys worked hard tonight to preserve it and make sure we didn't give up much -- especially in the third period there," Luongo said.
Vancouver defeated Minnesota 4-0.
Rangers Edge Sabres For 2,500th Win
The Rangers defeated the Sabres 4-1 on Saturday night for a milestone victory.
New York won their 2,500th game in team history.
Rookie Carl Hagelin's first goal, the first of New York's two short-handed scores, opened the scoring with 8:26 left in the second period.
His second, a slap shot from the left circle, put the Rangers up 3-1 early in the third.
Marian Hossa Scores 400th Goal
Marian Hossa opened the scoring in Chicago's 3-2 overtime win over the Islanders on Thursday night.
The goal was the 400th of his career.
"I'm very happy about it, especially because it came in a win," Hossa said. "Since the beginning of the game, we had great chances."
Bruins Suffer First Regulation Loss Since Oct. 29
The Winnipeg Jets beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday night, ending Boston's 15-game stretch in which it earned 29 of a possible 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Jets (12-11-4) moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season, and have won six of their last seven home games.
"It was one of those nights when they weren't going in," Shawn Thornton said. "We generated enough chances to probably win this game. The last month or so they've been going in. Tonight they didn't."
Flyers Spoil Boudreau's Debut With Ducks
In his first game on the bench with the Ducks, coach Bruce Boudreau saw his new team fall to the Flyers in overtime.
Claude Giroux scored 3:29 into overtime as Philadelphia rallied from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory Friday night over Anaheim.
"There's a lot of positives," Boudreau said.
"There's more skill up front than I thought there was. The energy and the enthusiasm on the bench was really good. Everybody left everything they had on the ice. It wasn't a question of not giving it their all, but in the end, you can't overcome making dumb mistakes."