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NHL
Tuesday, March 31
Underdogs have a perfect night on the ice
It was a great time to back underdogs in NHL action Monday night, with the pups going a perfect 6-0 straight up.
More impressive was the fact road dogs went 5-0, but the dogs have been trending over the past seven days, going 34-11-6.
That is huge considering dogs are only cashing 40.3 percent of the time this season.
Rask dominant versus Panthers in his career
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has dominated the Florida Panthers throughout his career, posting a record of 11-1-1, a 1.05 goals against average and .963 save percentage. The save percentage and GAA are Rask's best numbers versus any NHL team.
It is not confirmed whether Rask will get the nod to start when the Panthers visit the Bruins Tuesday.
NHL roundup: Lightning clinch playoff bid
MONTREAL -- Center Vladislav Namestnikov scored two goals and assisted on another, and the Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night at the Bell Centre.
Left winger Jonathan Drouin, right winger Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Anton Stralman also scored for the Lightning, who swept the five-game season series and set a franchise record for wins in a season with their 47th.
Left winger Max Pacioretty and defenseman Jeff Petry scored for the Canadiens.
Goaltender Ben Bishop, who picked up a pair of assists, stopped 25 shots for Tampa Bay. Carey Price made 39 saves for Montreal, which has lost seven straight against the Lightning.
Canucks 4, Blues 1
ST. LOUIS -- Vancouver used a second-period goal from center Nick Bonino to break a tie and record a win over St. Louis, the Canucks' fourth successive road victory.
Vancouver beat the Blues for the sixth straight time, including four of the last five in St. Louis.
Center Shawn Matthias, right winger Radim Vrbata and left winger Alexandre Burrows also scored for the Canucks. Goalie Eddie Lack made 23 saves. Defenseman Zbynek Michalek scored for the Blues, his first goal since being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.
Blackhawks 4, Kings 1
CHICAGO -- Continuing to make a late-season push up the playoff ladder, the Chicago Blackhawks got the better of a team in the same boat, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 Monday at the United Center.
Chicago, which won for the sixth time in nine games, prevailed behind the stellar play of backup goalie Scott Darling, giving No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford a night off. Darling stopped all but one of the Kings' 32 shots to improve his season record to 8-3-0.
The same couldn't be said for the Kings and goalie Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles was rocked by an identical 4-1 score for the second straight game, and so was Quick, who managed to stop just 35 of Chicago's 39 shots.
Oilers 4, Avalanche 1
DENVER -- Goaltender Richard Bachman had 29 saves, defenseman Brandon Davidson scored his first NHL goal, and Edmonton beat Colorado.
Defensemen Justin Schultz and Nikita Niktin and left winger Taylor Hall also scored for the Oilers, who have won three straight. Edmonton center Andrew Miller had three assists, and center Anton Lander had two.
Center Ryan O'Reilly scored and goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 33 shots for the Avalanche.
Flames 5, Stars 3
DALLAS -- Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau, center Jiri Hudler and defenseman Dennis Wideman each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 33 of 36 shots as the Flames defeated Dallas.
Calgary trailed 2-1 after one period but erupted for three unanswered goals within 6:49 to lead 4-2 at the second intermission.
Dallas left winger and captain Jamie Benn had two assists, and center Jason Spezza a goal and an assist. Center Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars.
Sabres 4, Coyotes 1
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Defenseman Andrej Meszaros scored two goals to give him four in his past two games, and Buffalo downed Arizona for just its fifth road win in regulation or overtime this season.
The win drew Buffalo within four points of Arizona as the two teams jockey for the 30th spot in the NHL standings, which carries with it a guarantee of drafting either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, two centers considered to be franchise-altering players.
Meszaros had three goals in the team's first 74 games, but he is now three short of matching his career high of 10 set during his rookie season with Ottawa in 2005-06.
Tuesday, March 31
Underdogs have a perfect night on the ice
It was a great time to back underdogs in NHL action Monday night, with the pups going a perfect 6-0 straight up.
More impressive was the fact road dogs went 5-0, but the dogs have been trending over the past seven days, going 34-11-6.
That is huge considering dogs are only cashing 40.3 percent of the time this season.
Rask dominant versus Panthers in his career
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has dominated the Florida Panthers throughout his career, posting a record of 11-1-1, a 1.05 goals against average and .963 save percentage. The save percentage and GAA are Rask's best numbers versus any NHL team.
It is not confirmed whether Rask will get the nod to start when the Panthers visit the Bruins Tuesday.
NHL roundup: Lightning clinch playoff bid
MONTREAL -- Center Vladislav Namestnikov scored two goals and assisted on another, and the Tampa Bay Lightning wrapped up a playoff spot with a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night at the Bell Centre.
Left winger Jonathan Drouin, right winger Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Anton Stralman also scored for the Lightning, who swept the five-game season series and set a franchise record for wins in a season with their 47th.
Left winger Max Pacioretty and defenseman Jeff Petry scored for the Canadiens.
Goaltender Ben Bishop, who picked up a pair of assists, stopped 25 shots for Tampa Bay. Carey Price made 39 saves for Montreal, which has lost seven straight against the Lightning.
Canucks 4, Blues 1
ST. LOUIS -- Vancouver used a second-period goal from center Nick Bonino to break a tie and record a win over St. Louis, the Canucks' fourth successive road victory.
Vancouver beat the Blues for the sixth straight time, including four of the last five in St. Louis.
Center Shawn Matthias, right winger Radim Vrbata and left winger Alexandre Burrows also scored for the Canucks. Goalie Eddie Lack made 23 saves. Defenseman Zbynek Michalek scored for the Blues, his first goal since being acquired from Arizona at the trade deadline.
Blackhawks 4, Kings 1
CHICAGO -- Continuing to make a late-season push up the playoff ladder, the Chicago Blackhawks got the better of a team in the same boat, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 Monday at the United Center.
Chicago, which won for the sixth time in nine games, prevailed behind the stellar play of backup goalie Scott Darling, giving No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford a night off. Darling stopped all but one of the Kings' 32 shots to improve his season record to 8-3-0.
The same couldn't be said for the Kings and goalie Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles was rocked by an identical 4-1 score for the second straight game, and so was Quick, who managed to stop just 35 of Chicago's 39 shots.
Oilers 4, Avalanche 1
DENVER -- Goaltender Richard Bachman had 29 saves, defenseman Brandon Davidson scored his first NHL goal, and Edmonton beat Colorado.
Defensemen Justin Schultz and Nikita Niktin and left winger Taylor Hall also scored for the Oilers, who have won three straight. Edmonton center Andrew Miller had three assists, and center Anton Lander had two.
Center Ryan O'Reilly scored and goaltender Semyon Varlamov stopped 33 shots for the Avalanche.
Flames 5, Stars 3
DALLAS -- Calgary left winger Johnny Gaudreau, center Jiri Hudler and defenseman Dennis Wideman each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Jonas Hiller stopped 33 of 36 shots as the Flames defeated Dallas.
Calgary trailed 2-1 after one period but erupted for three unanswered goals within 6:49 to lead 4-2 at the second intermission.
Dallas left winger and captain Jamie Benn had two assists, and center Jason Spezza a goal and an assist. Center Tyler Seguin also scored for the Stars.
Sabres 4, Coyotes 1
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Defenseman Andrej Meszaros scored two goals to give him four in his past two games, and Buffalo downed Arizona for just its fifth road win in regulation or overtime this season.
The win drew Buffalo within four points of Arizona as the two teams jockey for the 30th spot in the NHL standings, which carries with it a guarantee of drafting either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, two centers considered to be franchise-altering players.
Meszaros had three goals in the team's first 74 games, but he is now three short of matching his career high of 10 set during his rookie season with Ottawa in 2005-06.
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