Jake Allen made 32 saves with regular starter Brian Elliott back home resting as the St Louis Blues beat the NHL-leading Washington Capitals 4-0 on Saturday for their fourth consecutive shutout.
Kyle Brodziak, Colton Parayko, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Berglund scored for the Blues, who have their sights on the Central Division title
“When your goalie’s hot, the confidence breathes through the rest of the team,” Brodziak said. “We’re feeling that right now.”
Photo: AP
The Capitals would have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy with a point, but now must wait until at least Monday.
Mattias Janmark returned to the lineup from injury and got his first career two-goal game, while Antti Niemi made 34 saves against his former team to help Dallas win for the fourth time in five games.
Carl Hagelin scored twice and Phil Kessel had a goal and four assists as Pittsburgh beat Detroit 7-2, boosting their chances of earning a 10th-straight trip to the playoffs while hurting Detroit’s quest to extend its post-season streak to 25.
The Penguins have won seven of eight, staying ahead of the New York Islanders for the third guaranteed spot from the Metropolitan Division.
The Islanders beat the Hurricanes 4-3 after Cal Clutterbuck scored a deflected goal with 13.8 seconds left in overtime.
Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist while Roberto Luongo made 33 saves as Florida took over first place in the Atlantic Division by beating Tampa Bay 5-2.
Vincent Trocheck, Jiri Hudler, Jonathan Huberdeau and Jussi Jokinen also scored for the Panthers, who have a two-point lead over the Lightning.
Rickard Rakell scored a power-play goal in overtime as Anaheim finished with four straight goals to beat Ottawa 4-3.
Zdeno Chara snapped a 20-game goal drought as the Boston Bruins ended a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves for his 19th NHL shutout as the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 in a pivotal game between two teams contending for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
Chris Kreider had two goals and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2, while Shea Weber and James Neal each had a goal and an assist to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 rout of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Andrew Ladd scored twice to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames, while the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from