The three-game sweep of the NHL starts in Sunrise where the San Jose Sharks improved to 20-8-2 on the road with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers in a shootout.
“We got the wins early on the road to get off to a good start,” San Jose’s Joe Pavelski said. “Lately whether we’ve been at home or on the road, we’ve had good starts, we’ve found ways to win, get points. No doubt, on the road we’re just committed to a pretty disciplined game.”
Jaromir Jagr scored for the Panthers in regulation; it was his 740th career goal.
Jaromir Jagr scored his 740th goal in loss to Sharks – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“We found a way,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “I give credit to Florida. I thought they played really hard. They were physical, tough defensively, made it tough for us to create anything. We stuck with it and found a way, which is what we’ve been doing lately.”
Logan Couture scored for the Sharks in regulation to tie the game at one all.
“Gift by [Joe Thornton] on my tape,” Couture said. “Just have to find a hole. That guy has been doing that for years. I just have to put my stick on the ice, receive the pass and find the open net.”
In Edmonton, the visiting Minnesota Wild won their third straight since firing Mike Yeo.
On Thursday, they defeated the Oilers, 5-2.
The Wild got goals from suddenly well-playing players including Jason Pominville, Matt Dumba, Thomas Vanek, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle.
“It’s a world of difference, it feels like,” Coyle said. “All of a sudden, we feel good about ourselves, our confidence is growing each game, and it’s a huge road trip for us. This is my first time going through someone like this [coaching change]. We’re playing a complete game, guys are stepping up, and whether it’s coincidence or not, we like the way things are going right now.”
Darcy Kuemper made 31 saves for the win.
“It’s good; we’re playing good hockey right now and we’re getting rewarded for it,” Kuemper said. “I think it’s a fresh start for everyone. A lot of guys had a lot of negative things going on, and it’s almost like a new season, in a sense. I think it gave everyone a fresh start, and we can just go out there and play.”
Edmonton got goals from Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov.
“The guys know that if they compete for each other, they’ll be successful, that’s the thing moving forward,” Wild coach John Torchetti said. “Our wall plays were huge for us tonight. Everybody wanted to take a hit; everyone was driving through the puck, taking the body. We were getting pucks out of the zone and we were getting the job done defensively.”
Next up for the Wild is the Stadium Series outdoor game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Torchetti said. “For me, I’m just looking forward to playing the Blackhawks. They’re the Stanley Cup champions, so we have to come out, we have to be ready. We’ll have some fun with the family business, have some fun with the [outdoor] practice, and then let’s get to work and be ready for the game.”
In Glendale, the Arizona Coyotes doubled-up the Dallas Stars, 6-3, in a big win.
Max Domi scored twice and the Coyotes got goals from Martin Hanzal, Michael Stone, Tyler Gaudet, and Antoine Vermette.
“It’s pretty easy to follow along when those other two guys are going,” said Domi, who scored for the first time since getting a hat trick against Edmonton on Jan. 12 and the second game in the past 41. “The best way to defend is to hang on to the puck and do something with it yourself. We did a good job of that and we were able to close it out.
“If we win 1-0 we’ll take that too. But when you catch a wave, you want to ride it as long as you can.”
Louis Domingue made 36 saves in the win.
“Hanzal’s line was a real top line for us,” Arizona coach Dave Tippett said. “You are concerned about their skill and how they can hurt you with odd-numbered rushes. We were soft on the puck early [the other lines] so I decided if they were going to get some chances we might as well get some too.”
Ales Hemsky, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin scored for the Stars.
“They took it to us the first 10 or 11 minutes, and we got on our heels a little bit,” Domi said. “But we battled back and that shows a lot about our group. We found a way to get our legs going. They are a fast team and we had to play fast in order to keep up with them.”
It was the second straight game where the Coyotes scored six goals.
“I thought as a defense as a group we weren’t very good,” Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. “It started in the first period when we didn’t keep it simple.”
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