When the Philadelphia Flyers scored their third power play goal of the year early on Saturday night, you had to know we were in for a strange evening of hockey.
NHL Scores: New Jersey upsets Boston, Rangers spoil Jimmy Howard’s night
The Bruins danced with the Devils and lost.
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Sure enough, things started happening that hadn't happened all season. Strange, unsettling things that threaten to tear apart the very fabric of the hockey world. The Flyers scored five goals. Players not named Brad Richards scored for the Rangers. The Penguins lost their third straight game, and Rob Scuderi got injured. The Devils won a game on the road won a game! Calgary broke the Capitals' winning streak! And the Sabres led for another whole two minutes before losing!
Madness, I tell you. Maybe the world will turn right-side up again on Sunday. In the meantime, let’s recap a busy Saturday evening in the NHL.
All the NHL Scores
Devils 4, Bruins 3
Maple Leafs 4, Penguins 1
Rangers 3, Red Wings 2 (OT)
Lightning 3, Sabres 2
Flyers 5, Islanders 2
Jets 2, Stars 1 (SO)
Wild 5, Blackhawks 3
Flames 5, Capitals 2
Five Questions
On Saturday we asked you five burning questions about the day’s games. These are your cool, soothing answers.
1. Will the Rangers end the mother of all road trips on a high note?
They really had to work for it. Jimmy Howard was sensational in net for Detroit, stopping 37 of 40 shots in spectacular fashion. New York ultimately had to rely on something they haven't had much of this season: depth scoring. Benoit Pouliot scored twice and Mats Zuccarello chipped in once before Derick Brassard notched the game-winner in overtime.
2. Can Alex Chiasson continue his torrid start to his NHL career?
In an astounding turn of events, the Stars’ rookie didn’t show up on the scoresheet at all on Saturday. Then again, the entire Stars squad was hard pressed finding any offensive success against the Jets in a 2-1 shootout loss.
3. Will the Islanders spoil Mark Streit's homecoming?
Other way around. Streit contributed two assists in Philadelphia's 5-2 win on Long Island, by far their best game of the season to date. Both of Streits helpers led to goals by Vincent Lecavalier, who notched his fourth career hat trick in the victory.
4. Will Niklas Backstrom start for Minnesota or will he succumb to injuries?
Backstrom didn’t just start. He confused the Chicago attackers all night long, stopping 33 shots in Minnesota’s 5-3 win. His performance was impressive on a couple of levels. First, the fact that he was able to make so many good stops with a lingering knee injury was remarkable. And the shots he faced weren’t softies; the Blackhawks got a lot of good looks that Backstrom quickly closed down.
5. Will Washington push their win streak to four games?
No, and I’m still not really sure why. Everything was lined up for them. The Calgary Flames were finally starting to cool off after an impressive start, yet the Capitals still walked out of the Saddledome with their tails tucked between their legs on Saturday. The Flames’s penalty kill (29th in the league heading into the game) was able to completely shut down Washington’s powerful power play.
Impact Moment
The one play or moment from Saturday’s games that will be making headlines for the next couple of days
The highlight of the night was definitely the Devils’ late comeback in Boston. Down one with four minutes left, New Jersey took advantage of two late penalties to stun the Bruins. The win was surprising since the Devils have been pretty terrible so far this season. Blowing leads is usually their modus operandi, not erasing leads. Maybe this was the moment their season finally turned around for good?
Stat of the Night
Boston goalie Tuukka Rask registered his fifth career assist on Jarome Iginla's goal on Saturday. He now has as many career points (five) as Buffalo Sabres facemasher forward John Scott. But Scott has 324 career penalty minutes, so he's apparently an important contributor in the NHL or something.
Post to Post
- Logan Couture scored twice in the Sharks' 2-0 win in Montreal.
- The gifs in the comments at On The Forecheck really sum up the Predators' 6-1 loss to St. Louis.
- That's three straight losses for Pittsburgh after a 4-1 stinker in Toronto.
- I'm....just going to leave this here. Without comment.
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