Detroit 5, St. Louis 3
The Blues were able to come back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the 3rd period—but it wasn’t enough. It looked like the Blues were going to come back and win their 4th straight until the Wings exploded for two goals in 1:20 to salt away the victory. Pavel Datsyuk scored the goal of the night on what ended up being the game-winner and Justin Abdelkader scored the insurance goal to eliminate any doubt. Datsyuk’s goal was his fifth game-winner on the year including the second in as many nights.
Nashville 4, Colorado 2
People will see the score and just chalk it up to another loss by the struggling Avalanche. The defeat was the Avs 18th loss in their last 19 games since January 25th. But in a time for moral victories, Colorado showed a lot of fight to get back into a game that easily could have gotten out of control. They pulled to within a single goal, pulled their goaltender and peppered Pekka Rinne as they tried to pull even. Only an empty net goal by Martin Erat made the score look worse than it was. But at the end of the day, a loss is a loss.
On the flipside, a win is a win for the Nashville Predators. The Preds jumped all over the Avs early and coasted for their second straight victory at home to start an important 5-game homestand. Joel Ward continued his recent great play scoring a goal in his 3rd straight game. If the Preds can get some secondary scoring to go with the stellar goaltending Rinne gives them every night, it will go a long way towards making the all important March playoff push.
Vancouver 4, Calgary 3
Going into the night, this might have been the most intriguing game. Both teams have been extremely strong over the last 2 months and it was a great measuring stick to see just how far the Flames had come from the beginning of the year.
After the game, we had a reminder of where both teams stand: it’s the first time Calgary lost back-to-back games in regulation since January; and the Canucks finished up their 5 game road trip against Western Conference playoff contenders with a perfect 5-0 record. Daniel Sedin had 2 goals and an assist and Ryan Kesler returned to the scoresheet for the first time in 11 games. The good thing for the Flames is that even after the loss they’re still tied for 5th in the West. The bad thing is they are also tied for 8th and everyone in the conference has games in hand. At least they only have to play the Canucks one more time this season.
In a game that featured far more hate and rough stuff than you’d expect for an inter-conference matchup, the Rangers survived an exciting shootout and escaped with the win after 6 rounds. They only mustered 22 shots against the Sharks, but that proved to be enough. You won’t hear anyone complaining as the win vaulted them past the Buffalo Sabres for 7th in the East.
The Sharks finished a successful 6-game homestand with a 3-1-2 record. Even though they lost a point in the race for the 2nd seed, they’re still 3 points ahead of the Dallas Stars for the Pacific Division lead. In more silver lining news, Dan Boyle returned to the lineup and immediately looked like the all-star defensemen the Sharks have grown accustomed to.
