The three-game sweep starts in Columbus, where else, as the Blue Jackets won their ninth straight, this time over the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3.
The Jackets are playing well despite having been eliminated from the playoffs some time ago.
Nick Foligno’s hat trick led Jackets past Pens – file photo by Brent Clark
The effort and commitment to the team and the crest suggest this would have been a different Metropolitan Division if the Jackets had been injury free this season.
Nick Foligno scored a hat trick for the Jackets who handed the Pens another disappointing loss.
“We need points,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “It’s not a surprise. We’re well aware of that.”
Brandon Dubinsky had three assists, all coming on Foligno’s goals.
“It’s special, amazing, actually,” Foligno said of the hat trick. “I have [Dubinsky] to thank for all of them.”
The Pens have gotten lackluster in their efforts the last two weeks and the number of losses is leading to frustration behind the bench.
“They weren’t defensive lapses. They were turnovers,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Johnston said. “When you’re confronted, you’ve got to manage the puck and get it by the pressure.”
The Pens, who are used to being far ahead of the pack, are now being chased and need to win of face being left out of the post season.
“We really didn’t get desperate until we were down a couple of goals,” Crosby said. “We have to understand that’s how you play the entire game. Regardless of the score, our desperation has to be there.”
In Calgary, the lames’ Karri Ramo was injured in the first minute of the first period and Jonas Hiller came in to blank the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0.
“You have a little different mindset if you are not starting,” Hiller said. “The good thing is that it was early so I was still warm from the warm-up. You go from being a spectator to suddenly being the goalie out there, but it worked out well.”
Markus Granlund (two goals) Joe Colborne and Dennis Wideman scored for the Flames.
“Hiller came in and did a good job, but we were still a little scrambly in the first period,” Wideman said. “It took us a while to get our legs. They had some chances, but [Hiller] stood tall for us and made some great saves.”
The Flames needed the win to stay ahead of the LA Kings by one point and Winnipeg Jets by two points.
“With the way that everyone else is playing around us and how tight it is, this was pretty much a must-win for us,” Wideman said. “We definitely couldn’t afford to drop this one. We saw Winnipeg had won earlier [Saturday] and Los Angeles won, so we knew we had to win this game.”
Ramo extended himself to reach a puck and came up limping and needed help leaving the ice.
“Obviously it’s a lower-body [injury],” Flames coach Bob Hartley said. “He’s day-to-day. At the same time, Jonas Hiller came in, and what a clutch performance. As soon as he got in, he made three, four saves in a row. That was the turning point in the game, even though it was real early. He was real strong for us.”
In Ottawa, Kyle Turris rescued the Senators in extra time with a breakaway goal to give the Sens a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals.
“We got off to the start we wanted, played really well and we were aggressive on pucks, and then we started sitting back again,” Turris said. “It’s something we’ve got to talk about and work on moving forward. We battled and got the points we needed.”
The Caps had rallied from a deficit to force overtime but the Sens found that extra push to keep their post season hopes alive.
“I take the positive of the point,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “We were down 3-0 to a team that’s been really good for a long time here. I take the positive out. We could have left here with nothing.
“Obviously I’d like to get the extra point and get it done and go from there, but it didn’t happen when we went to overtime. We’ve still got to win some games. It’ll be a big test for us the next three games.”
Andrew Hammond made 29 saves for the win.
Clarke MacArthur Mika Zibanejad and Mark Stone scored for the Sens in regulation.
“They’re a really good team and I thought they fought back for everything they got,” Hammond said. “It’s hard to play hold the lead against a really good team like that.
“We were really good in the first period and then we just kind of got away from our ‘A’ game a little bit and let them get back into it. Fortunately, we were able to get the big goal in overtime.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.