The three-game sweep of the NHL gets started in Chicago, where the Blackhawks rallied late in the third period to force extra time against the Vancouver Canucks.
In overtime, Daniel Sedin picked a perfect time for his second goal of the game in a 5-4 win over Chicago.
“I thought we played well,” said Daniel Sedin, whose second goal was scored off the only shot of overtime. “They came back in the [third], but I thought we stuck with the game plan for 60 minutes and it paid off in the end. I mean, we got the two points.”
Linden Vey, Bo Horvat and Zack Kassian also scored for the Canucks who received a solid effort from Eddie Lack who made 37 saves in the win.
Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa scored in the third to rally the awks from a 4-2 deficit. For Hossa it was his seonHawks from a 4-2 deficit.
“He’s one of the best players in the League and has been for a long time too,” said Vancouver forward Alexandre Burrows (one assist). “He was unreal in Ottawa, he was unreal in Pittsburgh, Detroit and here. You can’t say enough good things about him, especially the way he plays. Right now, he’s hot offensively, but we’re happy we got the win tonight.”
For Hossa, it was his second of the game.
“Obviously, we weren’t happy with our game tonight, but it was nice to figure out a way to get it to overtime,” Chicago’s Duncan Keith said. “We know we’re a tough team to play against when our backs [are] up against the wall, but you never want to let it get like that.”
In Pittsburgh, the Penguins used the return of Blake Comeau to lineup and defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1.
Comeau had a goal and two points in his return.
“You add Comeau to the group and you look at who we’ve got back in the last 10 days, [Patric] Hornqvist, [Evgeni Malkin], Comeau,” Penguins coach Mike Johnston said. “That line was very good tonight and it gives us some depth. … We’ve watched every team close, and Detroit’s a very good hockey team. They’ve been playing well lately. They’re a dangerous team and I thought, at least for the first part of the game, we kept them back on their heels.”
Comeau had been out of the Pens lineup since later December when he suffered an upper-body injury.
“It felt good,” Comeau said. “I had never gone through an injury like that where I missed that much time. It felt like longer than it was, just skating on my own. It definitely felt good to get back to practice on Monday and it was nice to skate on Wednesday and it’s nice anytime you can contribute. But when you’ve been out that long, it definitely eases the mind a little bit that you can get on the score sheet right away.”
The win now has Pittsburgh just one point back of the New York Islanders for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
“They were better on all levels in the first,” Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg said. “We were slow and didn’t do what we’re supposed to do and they scored some goals. … We were the ones making the turnovers. We didn’t have enough speed, so we put ourselves in situations where we were forced to make a play instead of keeping it simple and sometimes that happens. We just have to move on.”
The Pens out to a 4-0 lead in the second before the Wings could find the back of the net.
“They were good and we were bad,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We played slowly. … We stood around. If it wasn’t for Mrazek, it could’ve been way worse. We didn’t play good, bottom line. I don’t know if we just thought it was going to be easy. We won a lot of games here lately and it’s been easy or what, but they had a little humble pie for us tonight. We had a lunch fed to us and they were better.”
In San Jose, the Sharks continued their near uninspired play ahead of the Stadium Series game. On Wednesday they lost in overtime to the Washington Capitals, 5-4.
“It was a roller coaster,” said Capitals fourth-line forward Jay Beagle, who scored two goals. “It was a fun game to be a part of. It was one of those games where we were rolling four lines and everyone was involved and playing. They score, we score. It was fun. Those games are fun to be a part of and fun to win.
“To get the first win at the start of a tough road trip, a tough four games here, that’s huge. It’s a big momentum boost and we’re looking forward to L.A. now (on Saturday).”
It may have been a rollercoaster but the Sharks had opportunities.
Braden Holtby made 26 saves for the win and Antti Niemi had 28 saves in the OT loss.
The Sharks got two goals from Brent Burns and single markers from Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. Thornton’s, his 12th, forced the extra time.
“Seems like every game the other team is scoring some pretty easy goals,” Couture said. “We’re not making it tough. It’s on the defense, it’s on the forward playing low to be harder around our net. Nemo’s making the first save and they’re scoring on the second one. We’ve got to be getting sticks and being a lot stronger around our own net. It’s too easy for them to score goals right now.”
It was a big two points for the Caps who need to keep pace in the Metropolitan Division.
“Fortunately on the one play, the referee or the linesman, they’re part of the surface,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “We got a little bit of a break. He’s trying to get out of the way. It’s sort of the breaks that happen. It’s no different than a puck that goes off the end boards and ends up in your net.
“We sort of built some momentum off that and obviously we had some big performances from Jay Beagle. Tonight our big lines weren’t going as well as they needed to. It was more of the secondary lines, your character guys, your role players, all those guys stepped up and that’s another way to win.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.