David Krejci buried the game-winner in the fourth round of a shootout to give the Boston Bruins a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday in a fierce struggle between division leaders.
Patrice Bergeron scored two regulation goals for the Bruins, who traded scores with the Panthers through the first two periods of a 2-2 tie.
Both teams went scoreless through the third and in overtime as each goaltender refused to bend.
Photo: Reuters
Tuukka Rask recorded 38 saves in the victory and denied three Florida shooters in the shootout.
Each team had converted one try when Mikael Samuelsson missed his fourth-round opportunity before Krejci’s winner.
“We seemed to find a way and that’s all that matters,” Bergeron told reporters.
“It was a hard-fought game,” he said.
Scott Clemmensen, still playing in place of the injured Jose Theodore, stopped 33 shots for the Panthers, who had goals from Jason Garrison and Shawn Matthias to twice tie the score.
The Bruins had mauled the Panthers in an 8-0 rout in their last meeting, but this time the home team had to swallow a loss of a different kind.
“We were right there,” Clemmensen said.
“It’s always tough when you lose, no matter how you look at it. We want to win,” he said.
Florida’s (21-14-9) one point moved them a single point ahead of Washington in the Southeast Division, while Boston (29-12-1) are now three points clear of Ottawa in the Northeast Division.
Florida lost defenseman Ed Jovanovski to an upper-body injury in the first period after he was involved in a fight with Boston’s Daniel Paille.
RED WINGS 5, SABRES 0
In Detroit, Michigan, Henrik Zetterberg scored the first of Detroit’s three goals in the opening period as the Red Wings broke a franchise record with their 15th straight home victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
It is the longest single-season winning streak by an NHL team at home since 1976 when Philadelphia won 20 in a row to match a league mark set by Boston during the 1929-1930 season.
The Red Wings won 14 straight at home in 1965.
Detroit’s Jimmy Howard made 27 saves for his fifth shutout this season and his NHL-high 27th victory.
The Sabres have lost a franchise-record nine straight road games in regulation.
BLUES 1, STARS 0
In St Louis, Missouri, Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season and T.J. Oshie scored midway through the third period as the surging St Louis Blues stayed unbeaten this calender year.
The Blues have earned 13 out of a possible 14 points this month (6-0-1), and they are tied with the New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks atop the NHL standings with 60 points.
St Louis improved to 19-3-3 at the Scottrade Center and set a single-season club record by earning at least a point at home for the 13th straight game.
Monday’s other results:
‧ Jets 2, Senators 0
‧ Predators 3, Islanders 1
‧ Coyotes 6, Avalanche 1
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