Diskussionen » Joel Ward scored his first goal since Nov. 22

BUFFALO Womens Steven Stamkos Jersey , N.Y. (AP) Flames rookie goalie David Rittich cared little about missing out on his first career shutout bid with 18 seconds left.The first 25 shots he stopped mattered more – and Calgary snapping a four-game skid to gain ground in a tightly contested Western Conference playoff race with a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.”How we get the two points, that’s more important right now,” said Rittich, who bounced back after a six-game stretch during which he went 1-4-1 and allowed 24 goals.”Yeah, it’s big for me right now,” he added. ”I had a couple, I’m not sure if it was bad, but the scores were terrible. Yeah, it’s a nice comeback.”Rittich’s only blemish was allowing Casey Nelson’s goal in the closing moments.Otherwise, Sam Bennett, Mark Jankowski and Mark Giordano each had a goal and an assist, while Sean Monahan and Dougie Hamilton also scored for Calgary.Coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at Pittsburgh on Monday, the Flames improved to 1-3-1 in their past five. With 76 points, Calgary jumped into 10th place, a point ahead of idle St. Louis, and within one of Los Angeles and Colorado.The Flames won at Buffalo for just the second time in 14 trips (2-8-3 and a tie), and first time in regulation since a 3-1 win on March 15, 1996.The way Calgary dominated a game it outshot Buffalo 41-26 had coach Glen Gulutzan believing the Flames might be heating up just in time to mount a late-season playoff push.”You need traction,” he said.”Our team, when they get confident, they can get on a real good run. We’ve done it before,” Gulutzan added. ”Every little step is a big step for us.”The Flames took control in an opening period in which they outshot Buffalo 17-6.Bennett scored 5:35 in after a Sabres breakdown in front of their own net. Bennett drove to the net to collect a loose puck and snapped it over goalie Chad Johnson, who was flat on his back.Three minutes later Tyler Johnson Jersey , Bennett set up Jankowski’s goal by driving up the left wing and entering the Sabres zone. He fed a pass into the middle, where Jankowski used Nelson as a screen and snapped a 40-footer that sneaked in under Johnson’s left arm.Calgary didn’t let up during a three-goal second period.Giordano and Monahan scored 61 seconds apart to put Calgary up 4-0 with 13:59 left and chase Johnson, who finished with 18 saves.Hamilton then beat Robin Lehner with a shot inside the right post for a power-play goal with 1:21 left in the period.Buffalo squandered a chance to win three straight at home for the first time since a 4-0 run in January 2017, and came out inexplicably flat two days after a 5-3 win over Toronto.”It’s difficult to swallow,” coach Phil Housley said, by saying the Sabres failed to match the Flames intensity.”We talked about their desperation. You know, they’re saying these are their playoff lives, these next two games on the road,” Housley said. ”And I don’t think we respected that.”Rittich was hardly tested, though his best save came three minutes into second period, when he got his left shoulder up to stop Jason Pominville’s one-timer form the left circle during a Sabres power play.NOTES: The Sabres called up C Danny O’Regan from AHL Rochester to fill in after Kyle Criscuolo sustained upper-body injury in a 5-3 win against Toronto on Monday. O’Regan was acquired in the trade that sent Evander Kane to San Jose last week. … Flames LW Johnny Gaudreau had two assists in playing his 300th career game. … Gaudreau’s 56 assists this season are the most by a Flames player since Alex Tanguay had 59 in 2006-07. … The Flames once went 0-11 and a tie in 12 straight trips to Buffalo from March 11, 1979, when they were still in Atlanta, to Nov. 10, 1985.UP NEXTFlames: Close three-game road trip at Ottawa Senators on Friday.Sabres: At Ottawa on Thursday.— PITTSBURGH (AP) Third-period goals by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel ruined former teammate Marc-Andre Fleury’s homecoming as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on Tuesday night.Fleury, who won three Stanley Cups with the Penguins – including the last two seasons – returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since Vegas selected him in the expansion draft last summer. Fleury, who stopped 33 shots, beat his former teammates in December in Las Vegas.Malkin gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead with his 30th of the season at 3:09 of the third period. Malkin, who scored in his fifth straight game, became the fifth player in team history to score 30 goals six times.Kessel extended the lead to 5-2 a little more than three minutes later on a one-touch, backdoor feed from Malkin.Jake Guentzel, Ryan Reaves and Ian Cole also scored for Pittsburgh, which won for the fifth time in six games.Matt Murray Victor Hedman Jersey , Fleury’s former understudy in Pittsburgh, made 21 saves to top his mentor.William Karlsson scored his 28th of the season for the Golden Knights. James Neal, who spent four seasons in Pittsburgh, got his 23rd. Ryan Carpenter and Jonathan Marchessault scored in the third period for Vegas, which nearly rallied from a three-goal deficit.BRUINS 3, RED WINGS 2DETROIT (AP) – Sean Kuraly and David Krejci scored in the second period, and surging Boston rallied for a victory over Detroit.Boston is 17-1-4 in its last 22 games and only three points behind NHL-leading Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division. The Red Wings never mounted much sustained pressure on goalie Tuukka Rask, who improved to 19-0-2 in his last 21 games.Martin Frk scored a power-play goal in the second for Detroit, but the Bruins quickly wiped out that lead later in the period. Danton Heinen scored with 11:39 remaining in the third to put Boston up by two.With their goalie pulled, the Red Wings moved within one when Frans Nielsen scored with 1:24 to play, but Boston held on.DUCKS 4, SABRES 3, OTBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Adam Henrique scored 1:36 into overtime and Anaheim snapped a three-game skid with a win over Buffalo.The Ducks rebounded in the extra period after allowing the Sabres to tie the game on Ryan O’Reilly’s goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell and Ondrej Kase also scored for the Ducks, who ended an 0-2-1 slide. Ryan Miller stopped 30 shots in facing his former team for the fourth time since the Sabres traded him to St. Louis during the 2013-14 season.Jack Eichel and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres, who squandered two one-goal leads. They are 0-3-1 in their past four games and 4-9-2 since Jan. 1. Robin Lehner stopped 29 shots.CAPITALS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Nicklas Backstrom scored the winning goal with 43 seconds left, Braden Holtby made 37 saves and Washington beat Columbus.Brandon Dubinsky tied the score for the Blue Jackets late in the third period and the game appeared headed to overtime before Backstrom jumped on a pass from T.J. Oshie and beat Sergei Bobrovsky for his 200th career goal.John Carlson and Tom Wilson also scored as the Capitals rallied to break a two-game skid and hang onto first place in the Metropolitan Division.Bobrovsky had 22 saves for the Blue Jackets, who have lost four in a row and nine of 11.FLYERS 2, HURRICANES 1, OTRALEIGH Yanni Gourde Jersey , N.C. (AP) – Jordan Weal scored with 3.1 seconds left in overtime and Philadelphia topped Carolina.Wayne Simmonds also scored to help the Flyers snap a four-game losing streak and earn two important points in the crowded Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference races.Elias Lindholm scored a power-play goal for the Hurricanes, who have lost three in a row to fall to 2-3 on an eight-game homestand.Brian Elliott, making his first start since missing four games with a lower-body injury, stopped 27 shots for the Flyers, who had gone 0-3-1 in a four-game stretch that followed a run of eight wins in nine games.Cam Ward made 28 saves for Carolina, which had a great chance to win it in the final minute of OT when Jordan Staal couldn’t score into an open net and Claude Giroux laid out to block Jeff Skinner’s follow-up attempt.PANTHERS 3, CANUCKS 1SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) – Aleksander Barkov scored twice, including the go-ahead goal late in the second period, to lead Florida past Vancouver.Jamie McGinn also scored for the Panthers. Harri Sateri made 26 saves for his fourth consecutive win.Markus Granlund scored for the Canucks, and Jacob Markstrom stopped 37 shots.Barkov has 14 points in his last 13 games. He added an empty-net goal with 41.5 seconds left to make it 3-1.SENATORS 5, DEVILS 3OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) – Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists as undermanned Ottawa beat New Jersey.Mike Hoffman, Chris DiDomenico, Colin White and Zack Smith also scored for Ottawa. Craig Anderson made 30 saves.The Senators were already missing forwards Mark Stone (knee) and Bobby Ryan (hand) when they learned they would be without Derick Brassard, who is banged up, and Nate Thompson, who left the morning skate early as he continues to deal with a lower-body injury.Travis Zajac, Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils. Keith Kinkaid allowed four goals on 20 shots before being replaced by Eddie Lack, who gave up one goal on 12 shots.WILD 6, BLUES 2ST. LOUIS (AP) – Jason Zucker tied a career high with his 22nd goal and Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves in Minnesota’s win over St. Louis.Nino Niederreiter, Marcus Foligno, Mikko Koivu Auston Matthews Jersey , Matt Dumba and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, who were coming off a 6-1 loss in Dallas on Saturday.Minnesota has won three of four and moved within four points of the third-place Blues in the Central Division.Jaden Schwartz and Dmitrij Jaskin scored for the Blues, who had won four of five.Dubnyk improved to 21-10-3 by winning his third successive start.FLAMES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2CHICAGO (AP) – Michael Stone scored with 3:30 left and Calgary edged Chicago for the second straight game.Dougie Hamilton and Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary, and Mike Smith made 34 saves in the opener of a six-game trip. The Flames topped the Blackhawks 4-3 Saturday night on Monahan’s overtime goal in Calgary.Stone connected on a long slap shot from the right point. It looked as if Johnny Gaudreau might have tipped it by Jeff Glass, but Stone was credited with his third goal of the season.The Blackhawks challenged the play, arguing Gaudreau’s stick was above the crossbar. But the officials ruled he didn’t touch the puck.Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane scored for last-place Chicago, which has dropped three in a row. Glass finished with 20 stops.JETS 4, COYOTES 3WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) – Dustin Byfuglien had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg defeated Arizona, becoming the second NHL team to reach 20 home wins this season.Dmitry Kulikov scored the eventual winner in the second period for the Jets (32-13-9), who are 9-0-1 in their last 10 home games to improve to 20-3-2 there this season.Jack Roslovic and Nic Petan also scored for Winnipeg, and Connor Hellebuyck (28-6-8) made 18 saves to tie Washington goalie Braden Holtby for the second-most wins in the NHL.Kevin Connauton, Christian Dvorak and Derek Stepan scored for the Coyotes, who have lost four straight in falling to a league-worst 12-32-9. Antti Raanta stopped 19 shots.AVALANCHE 3, SHARKS 1DENVER (AP) – Gabriel Bourque and Tyson Jost scored 2:14 apart in the second period, Jonathan Bernier stopped 38 shots and Colorado beat San Jose.Colorado returned from a six-game road trip and won its ninth straight at the Pepsi Center, the club’s longest home winning streak since moving to Denver in 1995. The Avalanche are 19-7-1 at home this season.Colorado struggled to generate many scoring chances without Nathan MacKinnon (left shoulder) and Mikko Rantanen (lower body), the team’s top two scorers. In their absence, the Avalanche were outshot 39-20.The Sharks pulled goalie Martin Jones in the final minute and had a flurry of chances to tie it, but J.T. Compher iced the game with an empty-net goal with three seconds remaining.Jones stopped 17 shots for the Sharks, who have won just twice in their last seven games. Joel Ward scored his first goal since Nov. 22.—