Jaroslav Halak produced 31 saves as the St Louis Blues blanked the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in overtime on Saturday to remain unbeaten at home.
Defenseman Erik Johnson scored his first goal of the season 50 seconds into overtime when he sent a shot through the legs of Penguins goalie Brent Johnson.
The shutout was Halak’s first of the young season and the Slovakian goaltender was at his best in the second period when he turned aside 19 Pittsburgh shots.
PHOTO: AFP
“I faced them before, but that was with different teammates,” said Halak who was traded to St Louis over the summer. “It was a new challenge to me and you still have to be aware of their great players.”
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby beat Halak with a wrist shot midway through the third period, but the puck hit the far post.
Johnson, who lost for the first time in five games this season, matched Halak’s performance through regulation and made 23 saves in goal for the Penguins.
“They both made some good saves,” Crosby said. “The result of it being zero to zero is mostly because of those guys. They both played well. We’d have loved to get Johnny [Johnson] the win there, but they got a good play there in overtime.”
The Blues, who have registered at least a point in six of their seven games this season, are one point behind the Central Division leading Detroit Red Wings.
For the Penguins, the loss was their first in five games.
SABRES 6, DEVILS 1
In Newark, New Jersey, Thomas Vanek scored twice as the Buffalo Sabres wrecked goalie Johan Hedberg’s Devils’ debut in a victory over New Jersey.
Ryan Miller had 26 saves, while Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis and Patrick Kaleta also scored in Buffalo’s best offensive game of the season.
Zach Parise scored for the struggling Devils, who benched high-priced left wing Ilya Kovalchuk on the same night they tried to give Martin Brodeur his first night off this season. Brodeur came on 8 minutes, 17 seconds into the second period after Hedberg allowed four goals on 13 shots.
New Jersey is winless at home (0-4-1) under new coach John -MacLean and 2-5-1 overall.
RANGERS 3, BRUINS 2
In Boston, Artem Anisimov and Alex Frolov scored off bouncing pucks 25 seconds apart in the first period and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 35 shots as the New York Rangers held off Boston.
Marc Staal also scored for the Rangers, who posted their second straight road win.
Zdeno Chara and Nathan Horton had goals for the Bruins, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
RED WINGS 5, DUCKS 4
In Detroit, Michigan, Pavel Datsyuk scored with 12 seconds left in the game to give Detroit a win over Anaheim.
The Red Wings rallied from a 3-1 second-period deficit and trailed 4-3 in the third after Teemu Selanne scored with 11 minutes, 28 seconds remaining. Selanne’s goal was the 610th of his career, tying Bobby Hull for 15th on the NHL’s career list.
Henrik Zetterberg scored twice for Detroit, including the tying goal with 8 minutes, 43 seconds left.
In other action, it was:
‧ Canadiens 3, Senators 0
‧ Capitals 4, Thrashers 3, OT
‧ Flyers 5, Maple Leafs 2
‧ Panthers 4, Islanders 3
‧ Predators 1, Stars 0
‧ Blue Jackets 3, Blackhawks 2
‧ Hurricanes 4, Coyotes 3, OT
‧ Kings 6, Avalanche 4
‧ Sharks 6, Oilers 1
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