In Sunrise, the Florida Panthers won their ninth straight game Sunday night thanks to the efforts of Jaromir Jagr who scored twice in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
“He pushes all of us,” defenseman Alex Petrovic told Fox Sports Florida. “He still moves like he’s 30 years old.”
Al Montoya got the start in the Panthers’ net and made 39 saves for the win.
“[Montoya] was really big for us again, the big guy got a couple of nice goals and the penalty killers were good,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. “[Jagr] got a couple of good chances and buried them in the back of the net.”
Jason Zucker scored the lone goal for the Wild.
“I thought it was a good effort today,” coach Mike Yeo told Fox Sports North. “We just didn’t bury our chances. It was one of our better road games, but we couldn’t put the puck in the net.”
Devan Dubnyk took the loss on 27 saves.
In Brooklyn, the New York Islanders won an offensive exhibition with the Dallas Stars, 6-5.
Cal Clutterbuck scored twice and Kyle Okposo had two goals and three points on the night.
The game was not without controversy as Clutterbuck took a hit from Dallas’ Jason Demers who was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding.
“That [hit] was a tough one. I didn’t really see what happening or see it coming or anything. I just obviously felt the after effects of it so came in the dressing room] to make sure I wasn’t hurt or concussed or anything,” Clutterbuck said.
The call did not please Dallas’ coach Lindy Ruff.
“I think the guy that got hit has a history of diving,” Ruff said of Clutterbuck. “I looked at the play, I don’t think [Demers] elbowed him, I don’t think he did anything really.”
Not surprisingly the Islanders had a different impression of the play and call.
“He is a tough guy to keep out of the lineup. [Saturday] he got dinged up a little bit,” Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. “This morning he felt well, [scored] two big goals. He is one of the leaders of our hockey club. … I don’t know how many goals he has now but he’s on pace to have a career year, he is playing extremely well and he deserves it because of his work ethic. … To me, he is a leader. He doesn’t wear a letter on his jersey, but I think the guys in that room know he is an experienced guy and what he brings to the table.”
In Chicago, Corey Crawford made 26 saves in a 3-0 Chicago shutout of the Ottawa Senators.
“I think as a group, we’ve been playing a lot better at home this year,” Crawford said. “We have the puck a lot more. I haven’t seen the stats, but it seems that way. We’re playing with the puck a lot more in our home games.”
Duncan Keith, Artem Anisimov and Andrew Desjardins scored for the Blackhawks.
“At the time of year now, all that matters is the result,” Ottawa coach Dave Cameron said. “You have to get points and we did, again, a lot of good things, but we weren’t able to get any points out of it. So, I’m not pleased.”
Anisimov has been a positive addition to the Blackhawks lineup since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“It’s fun playing there,” Anisimov said. “Most of the goals are scored from the [front of the net], from the net area. I just try to go there and I’ve got two great wingers who can make plays. I just try to make space for them and go to the net, take away the goalie’s eyes and good things can happen.”
Craig Anderson took the loss on 27 saves.
“We played a pretty solid defensive road game here, gave ourselves an opportunity to be in the game and gave ourselves a chance,” Anderson said. “Crawford made some good saves when he needed to. That’s why he’s won [Stanley Cup championships] and he’s been on that team. So, kudos to him and his team, but we’re going to have to find a way to put the puck in the net.”
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