Marc-Andre Fleury might not be able to explain his success in the shootout, but the numbers tell the story. Fleury made 31 saves and stopped three more tries in the shootout, and Kris Letang scored the only goal in the tiebreaker in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
Jonas Gustavsson did a heck of a lot more than just make his first start since having minor heart surgery for the second time this season. The Toronto rookie finished with his first NHL shutout, stopping 25 shots to beat the Boston Bruins 2-0 on Saturday night. "I'm so happy to be back on the ice and back playing at home against the Boston Bruins and have my first NHL shutout,"…
Montreal coach Jacques Martin said he regarded Andrei Markov's leadership skills so much he made the defenseman an assistant captain before the season. After missing more than two months with a leg injury, Markov brought more than just intangibles to his first game since October, scoring two of Montreal's three-power play goals in the Canadiens' 3-0 victory over the New York Islanders…
Martin Brodeur had no problem with being benched. The New Jersey Devils pulled the record-setting goalie after he allowed three first-period goals, then rallied for three second-period goals and went on to a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night. "After three goals on six shots, we had to do something," said Brodeur, who said he didn't lobby to stay in the game.
Defenseman Karlis Skrastins broke out in a big way for the Stars. After 32 games without a goal since signing with Dallas, Skrastins scored two for the first time in his career, helping the Stars end ended Detroit's four-game winning streak with a 4-3 win over the Red Wings on Saturday. Skrastins fired over the left shoulder of goaltender Jimmy Howard for the go-ahead goal 1:16 into the third…
Henrik Lundqvist faced a flurry of shots in the third period, and stopped each and every one. When it was over, he'd made 16 of his 36 saves in the final frame and helped the New York Rangers hang on for a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers that spoiled the return of Simon Gagne. "We played really good tonight," Lundqvist said.
Mike Brodeur made a name for himself Saturday night in his NHL debut for the Ottawa Senators. No relation to New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur, the rookie goalie carried a shutout into the third period, and Erik Karlsson scored his first career goal, leading Ottawa to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Looking to bounce back from a particularly ugly loss, the Colorado Avalanche spent time before the game talking about the importance of getting off to a good start. They really outdid themselves. Chris Stewart scored with 21 seconds elapsed, opening a four-goal flurry in the first period that carried the Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
Since losing 5-0 to Calgary at home on Nov. 30, the Nashville Predators have been one of the best teams in the NHL. With a 5-3 victory over the Flames on Saturday, the Predators avenged the loss to Calgary and improved to 7-1-2 since that setback — and 22-11-3 overall. "Any time you get beat at home, especially the way we got beat, it sort of brings clarity into what you don't want to…
As the Carolina Hurricanes have retreated to the bottom of the NHL standings, they haven't been shy about giving opportunities to some of their younger players. Patrick Dwyer made the most of his audition Saturday night, scoring his second goal in two games while working well with linemate Matt Cullen in the Hurricanes' 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers.
