The three-game sweep starts in Ottawa where the Senators and Florida Panthers each needed a win and two points. It was the Panthers, off the strength of Jaromir Jagr, who scored twice, to double-up the Sens, 4-2.
“Everybody knew how important it is to win this game,” Jagr said. “It was a Game 7 for us. We just have to get ready for the next Game 7 against Boston.”
Jagr, who is older than his two linemates in combined ages (21-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau and 19-year-old Aleksander Barkov) scored his second of the game on a wrap-around.
“It’s a two-way street. I can help them and they can help me. I really enjoy it,” he said. “The coach gives us an opportunity to play together. Two great young guys, talented guys. They make the plays. They can see the plays. They work very hard. They want to get better. It’s working both ways.
“They’ve surprised me how talented they are. Even so young, they can make plays like they’ve been in the League for 10 years. I had no idea about it. I’m glad I’m on this team.”
Despite the age difference there is no apparent loss of ability as Jagr continues to keep himself fit.
Dan Ellis made 25 saves for win for the Cats.
“Hopefully Lou (Roberto Luongo) is able to bounce back,” he said. “It’s a back-to-back. Those are tough games for any goalie. You don’t see a lot of goalies playing those even though it’s a big game. It gives him a little bit of rest and allows him to come back even stronger. Fortunately we were able to get the win tonight. Now he has his time to rest and recover, enjoy a spa day, maybe.”
With the Boston Bruins winning Sunday, the Sens’ hopes took a dim turn on the loss.
In Raleigh, the Bruins used a goal from David Pastrnak in extra time to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 to put a little more distance between them and the ninth spot in the east.
“I was trying to shoot high because the goalie was coming from the other side,” Pastrnak said. “It went low and it was in.”
The slog through the final weeks has been a tough for Boston as they look to secure the final spot for the post season. They have a three-point lead on Ottawa and four on Florida.
“Today you could feel it a little bit; I had to use my whole bench,” Boston coach Claude Julien said. “But it’s about results right now. Today might not have been perfect, but the effort and the will of those guys to battle through fatigue and find a way to win is what I’m really proud of.”
In Calgary, the Flames got two goals from Lance Bouma to help them defeat the Nashville Predators, 5-2 and move ahead of the Los Angeles Kings by one point in the race for the playoff spot.
“Everyone knows the importance of this game, and everyone really played like a playoff game and really took charge and wanted to be a difference-maker in the game,” Bouma said. “When we have that, when we have all four lines going and all our [defensemen] going, we’re a hard team to beat. That’s for sure.”
Jonas Hiller made 27 saves for the Flames in the win.
Kris Russell, Michael Ferland and Jiri Hudler also scored for the Flames.
“He’s awesome,” Bouma said of Hudler. “He’s such a skilled player, and he’s a tough player to contain. He’s a great veteran and a great leader, and he’s a guy that’s been huge for us all year long.”
Roman Josi and Seth Jones scored for the Predators.
“I felt that we’ve played many great games since we started the year, but more importantly the last couple of weeks, and tonight I really believe that we played I would say our most complete game in a long time,” Flames coach Bob Hartley said. “Not that the others were not good. Tonight, I’m so proud of our four lines, our six [defensemen]. Jonas Hiller came up with some big saves at the right time so it’s a big team win, feels great.”
They will need to play great games down to the final game.
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