The sweep of the NHL from Sunday covers all three games played including the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-2 decision over the New Jersey Devils.
“It’s a lot of fun to score goals, but I just try to develop for every game and see how that goes,” he said.
Victor Rask scored twice for the Canes to reach the 20-goal mark this season.
“There is a lot of potential there,” center Jordan Staal said. “He’s grown so much as a player and for this team. He’s always been on the right side of the puck and he’s great defensively. It’s the offensive game that’s taken another stride, and it’s really nice to see.”
Cam Ward made 23 saves for the win as Carolina improved to 33-28-15 on the season.
Travis Zajac and Bobby Farnham scored for the Devils.
“Obviously they came out well,” Farnham said. “We were in the box in the first, which gave them some momentum. Then we got some saves from Wedgewood to keep us in the game.”
Ron Hainsey also scored for the Canes.
“We wound up playing with the puck a little bit (in the second),” New Jersey coach John Hynes said. “We put pucks behind their defensemen and that was something we wanted to do in the first period. We were stronger on pucks, and we played a much harder game in the second and third period.”
Scott Wedgewood took the loss on 20 saves for the Devils.
“I’m not upset with anything I did out there,” Wedgewood said. “I’ve been confident since Day One when I stepped up here and that’s what has helped me. I’ve stay calm and collected. It’s exciting. I feel like I belong. And with the way the guys are playing in front of me, it makes it a lot easier.”
In New York, the Rangers got two goals from Eric Staal but they weren’t enough as they lost in extra time to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2.
Sidney Crosby scored the game-winner as time was winding down in the extra session.
Phil Kessel and Matt Cullen scored in regulation.
The Rangers killed off two power plays in the game including one for the first 1:56 of overtime before the Pens won it.
“I was thinking, if we got through that [penalty kill] something good was going to happen for us,” Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “It wasn’t the case, but it wasn’t for lack of effort tonight.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves through regulation and did not face a shot in the extra session as the Rangers were on their heels most of the time.
“You would have liked to get a bounce the other way after the guys did a great job [on the penalty kill], but unfortunately not tonight,” Eric Staal said. “But we’ll take the point and get a couple days to recover.”
In Vancouver, the third game of the night also ended in a 3-2 decision as the Chicago Blackhawks continued the Canucks woes.
Andrew Ladd scored the game-winner as the Hawks clinched a playoff berth with the win.
“Every game, you are getting more comfortable,” Ladd said. “You know what to expect from each other.”
Ladd has fit well with his new/old teammates, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
“I love the way he played the last couple of games,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. “He brings that presence and has had some pace to his game and some energy, and he was rewarded with some huge goals for us.”
Sven Baertschi and Alexandre Burrows scored for the Canucks.
Teuvo Teravainen and Tomas Fleischmann also scored for the Hawks.
“We wanted to build on last night’s win and just keep getting points,” Ladd said. “It’s still a dogfight in the standings and for position, and these are the games you need to have.”
The Canucks are 0-7-1 in their last eight.
“You never want to lose that many games in a row,” Burrows said. “It’s frustrating because we know we’re not going to get in. It’s going to be a really long summer. We have to use these next few weeks for the young guys to show what they got.”
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