THURSDAY'S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
ALFREDSSON TAKES FINAL SKATE WITH SENS . . .
Longtime Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson dressed for the warm-up with the Senators after signing a one-day contract with the club as part of his retirement announcement Thursday.
A sixth-round pick (No. 133) by the Senators in the 1994 NHL Draft, Alfredsson spent 17 of his 18 seasons in Ottawa, capturing the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1995-96, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2011-12 and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2012-13. He also led the Senators to the Presidents' Trophy in 2002-03 and the Stanley Cup Final in 2007, when he led all players with 14 goals and 22 points in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Among his many accomplishments, Alfredsson ranks first in Senators history in goals (426), assists (682), points (1,108) and games played (1,178). He returns to Ottawa after a one-season stint with the Detroit Red Wings; he had 18 goals and 31 assists in 68 games.
. . . BRODEUR DEBUTS WITH BLUES
Martin Brodeur stopped 20 shots in his first NHL start since Apr. 13 and his first game with a team other than the New Jersey Devils. The winningest goaltender in League history (688) and the all-time shutouts leader (124), Brodeur spent his first 1,259 regular-season games with New Jersey before signing a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues earlier this week.
LIGHTNING STAY HOT AT HOME, MAINTAIN LEAGUE'S BEST RECORD . . .
Steven Stamkos had one goal and two assists and Ben Bishop had his ninth career shutout as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-0 to split their home-and-home set.
* Tampa Bay has won five straight games at Amalie Arena and has an NHL-best 11 wins and 23 points at home this season (11-2-1; tied with Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators). The Lightning (18-6-3, 39 points) have the League's best record, one point ahead of the New York Islanders (19-7-0, 38 points).
* Stamkos has at least one point in 15 of his past 18 games; he's tied for second in the League with 16 goals and tied for third with 32 points, one point behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers.
* Tyler Johnson had an assist on the game-winning goal to push his career-best point streak to five games; he has two goals and five assists in that span. Johnson is tied for fifth in the NHL with 20 assists.
* Andrej Sustr matched a career-high for assists/points in a game with two assists and Radko Gudas had his third career game-winning goal. It was his first since Dec. 21, 2013 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
. . . HALAK SETS FRANCHISE RECORD AS ISLANDERS KEEP PACE
Jaroslav Halak stopped 20 shots and Casey Cizikas scored the game-winning goal in the third period to help the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1. The Islanders improved to 12-1-0 in games decided by one goal. They're now 13-2-0 in their past 15 games.
* At 19-7-0 (38 points), the Islanders have won 19 of their first 26 games for the first time in franchise history and enter games Friday one point behind the Lightning for the top spot in the NHL standings (New York has one game in hand on Tampa Bay).
* Halak extended his career-best winning streak to 11 games to set a new Islanders record for consecutive wins by a goaltender, breaking Billy Smith's mark of 10 set in 1982.
* Cizikas scored his fourth goal of the season and his third career game-winning goal. His last game-winner was April 2, also in a 2-1 win at Ottawa.
CANUCKS TAKE WESTERN CONFERENCE LEAD . . .
Brad Richardson scored twice and matched a career-high with three points to propel the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, their first head-to-head victory since Jan. 16, 2010 (0-1-3 since).
* The Canucks have three shutouts in their past six games (5-1-0) and have outscored opponents 21-9 in that span. With the win the Canucks (18-7-1, 37 points) leapfrogged the Anaheim Ducks (16-6-5, 37 points) for top spot in the Western Conference (Vancouver has a game in hand). They also remain two points behind the Lightning (18-6-3, 39 points) for the best record in the NHL.
* Richardson had his second multigoal game of the season. It was his 11th career game-winning goal (first since April 5 against the Los Angeles Kings) and ninth career shorthanded goal (first since Oct. 17, 2013 at the Buffalo Sabres).
* Eddie Lack made 21 saves for his first shutout and the fifth of his career. It was second win of the season. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Lack is the second Canucks goaltender to shut out the Penguins and the first to do so in Pittsburgh. The other Canucks goalie with a shutout against the Penguins is Kirk McLean, on Feb. 17, 1988.
. . . FLAMES RALLY (AGAIN) TO KEEP PACE
Dennis Wideman scored two goals, including the game-tying goal with 1:17 left in regulation, and Sean Monahan scored at 1:47 of overtime to lift the Calgary Flames to a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche. The Flames trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes and overcame two third-period deficits en route to the victory. Calgary leads the League with six wins when trailing to start the final period.
* The Flames (17-8-2, 36 points) have won four straight games and are one point behind the Canucks (18-7-1, 37 points) and Ducks (16-6-5, 37 points) for top spot in the Pacific Division and Western Conference.
* Monahan scored his fourth career game-winning goal and third in overtime. Per Elias, Monahan (20 years, 53 days) is the fourth-youngest player in NHL history to score his third overtime goal, behind Sidney Crosby (18 years, 229 days on Mar. 24, 2006), Rick Nash (19 years, 214 days on Jan. 16, 2004) and Ilya Kovalchuk (19 years, 269 days on Jan. 9, 2003).
* Monahan (102 games) moved into a share of fourth on the Flames' all-time overtime goals list, behind Jarome Iginla (six in 1,219 games), Theo Fleury (five in 791 games) and Valeri Bure (four in 256 games).
* Wideman had his second straight multipoint game and his second two-goal game of the season. He is tied with Monahan for second on the Flames with 10 goals in 26 games.
* Playing in his 100th NHL game, Karri Ramo stopped 26 shots to extend his winning streak to a career-high six games. He has allowed 11 goals and has two shutouts in that span while posting a 1.83 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.
* Kris Russell established a career-high with three assists, including an assist on the overtime goal. He has 13 points this season, all assists. Fellow defenseman Mark Giordano also assisted on the overtime goal. He enters play Friday leading all defensemen with 21 assists and 27 points.
* Bob Hartley was the behind the bench for his 400th win as an NHL head coach.
PREDATORS CONTINUE HOME SUCCESS, LEAD CENTRAL DIVISION
The line of Mike Ribeiro, Filip Forsberg and James Neal combined for two goals and four assists to spoil Martin Brodeur's debut with the St. Louis Blues debut and lift the Nashville Predators (17-6-2, 36 points) into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.
* The Predators have won seven straight games at Bridgestone Arena; they share the NHL lead with 11 wins and 23 points on home ice this season (11-1-1; tied with Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning).
* Ribeiro had one goal and two assists for his first three-point game since Dec. 12, 2013, when he had the same stat line against the New York Islanders. He shares the Predators lead in assists (14) and ranks second in points (22).
* Forsberg has three goals and four assists in three games against the Blues this season. He enters play Friday leading all rookies in goals (11) and points (25).
* Pekka Rinne stopped 29 shots to improve to 7-1-0 in his past eight games. Rinne (17-4-1) leads the all goaltenders this season in wins, ranks third in save percentage (.931) and ranks fourth in goals-against average (1.88).
* Colin Wilson has scored the game-winner in each of Nashville's past two wins. He has four goals and three assists his past eight games.
JONES POSTS SECOND STRAIGHT SHUTOUT FOR KINGS
Martin Jones stopped all 26 shots he faced to record his second straight shutout (also Nov. 26 at the Minnesota Wild) and backstop the Kings to a 4-0 win against the Arizona Coyotes. He now has a shutout streak of 146:21, just shy of his career-best of 163:12 set during a stretch last season that included consecutive shutouts Dec. 7 (against the New York Islanders) and Dec. 10 (at the Montreal Canadiens).
* Elias says that Jones and the Rangers' Cam Talbot are the only goaltenders in NHL history to record back-to-back shutouts in each of their first two NHL seasons. Both goaltenders accomplished the feat in 2013-14 and again in 2014-15.
* Jones recorded his sixth career shutout (second this season) in his 26th NHL game. Per Elias, Jones matched Tony Esposito (Chicago Blackhawks, 1969; 26 games) as the third-fastest goaltender to record as many shutouts. Only Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets, 2009; 24 games) and Jacques Plante (Montreal Canadiens, 1954; 25 games) have reached six career shutouts faster.
* The Kings have shut out their opponents in three of the past four games (3-1-0) and are second in the League with five shutouts this season. Jonathan Quick has three shutouts to go with Jones' two.
* Dustin Brown had his first two-goal game since Oct. 9, 2013 against the Ottawa Senators and he also had an assist for his first three-point game since Mar. 31, 2012 at the Minnesota Wild. His opening goal stood as his 29th career game-winning goal, tying him with Rob Blake for fourth on the Kings' all-time list.
WEISS, RED WINGS STAY HOT VS. STARS
Stephen Weiss had one goal and two assists to power the Red Wings to their seventh win in their past nine games (7-2-0). It was Weiss' first three-point game since Feb. 26, 2012, when he had two goals and an assist for the Florida Panthers against the Montreal Canadiens.
* Weiss has four goals and five assists in seven games this season to surpass his combined goals, assists and points totals from 2012-13 and 2013-14, when he had three goals and five assists in 43 games.
* Pavel Datsyuk had one goal and one assist for his third straight multipoint game. He also scored his second game-winning goal of the season. He has 11 goals and eight assists in 15 games this season, and for his career he has 16 goals and 28 assists in 39 career games against the Stars.
* Mike Babcock was behind the bench for his 499th win as an NHL coach, tying Terry Murray for 19th on the all-time list and moving within one of Toe Blake (500) and two of Pat Quinn (501).
* Jimmy Howard stopped 22 shots to improve to 12-5-4 this season. Howard's victory was the 164th of his career. He moved past Harry Lumley into sole possession of third place on the Red Wings' all-time list among goaltenders.
* The Red Wings improved to 8-1-1 in their past 10 games against the Stars since the start of the 2011-12 season.
SHARKS OUTLAST BRUINS IN SEESAW AFFAIR
Joe Pavelski, Tommy Wingels and Tyler Kennedy all scored twice as the San Jose Sharks overcame deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 to outlast the Boston Bruins for a 7-4 victory. The Sharks have won three straight home games, outscoring opponents 15-9 in those contests.
* Pavelski also had an assist for his second three-point game of the season (he had one goal and two assists Oct. 18 at the New Jersey Devils). He leads the Sharks with 12 goals, and is tied with Patrick Marleau for the scoring lead with 23 points.
* Wingels had his first multigoal game since the season opener Oct. 8 at the Los Angeles Kings. He has three goals and four assists on his three-game point streak.
* Kennedy's second goal of the game, at 3:02 of the third period, stood as his 18th career game-winning goal. Prior to Thursday, his only goal this season was a game-winner Nov. 13 at the Tampa Bay Lightning. This marks the first time since 2010-11 that Kennedy has posted multiple game-winning goals in a season.
* Eight different Sharks had multipoint games Thursday: Pavelski, Wingels, Kennedy, Tomas Hertl (one goal, one assist), Brent Burns (two assists), Matt Irwin (two assists), Marleau (two assists) and James Sheppard two assists).
BOBROVSKY SETS FRANCHISE RECORD IN BLUE JACKETS WIN
After opening a 3-0 lead in the first 21 minutes, the Columbus Blue Jackets surrendered three Florida Panthers goals in a span of 4:37 in the second period before Ryan Johansen eventually lifted Columbus to a 4-3 shootout win.
* Sergei Bobrovsky made a Blue Jackets-record and career-high 52 saves, then stopped all four shootout attempts, to improve to 8-1-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage all-time against Florida. The 55 shots Bobrovsky faced also were the most ever seen by a Blue Jackets goalie, and a career-high for Bobrovsky.
* Per Elias, Columbus is the first team to win a game in which they were outshot by 35-plus shots since April 10, 2010, when the Edmonton Oilers won 4-3 at Los Angeles despite a minus-39 shot differential (55-16). The Panthers held a 42-9 shot margin during the final two periods and overtime en route to matching a Florida record with 55 shots on goal (also Nov. 3, 2010 in a 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers).
* Dalton Prout had a career-high two points while rookie Kerby Rychel had two assists for his first NHL multi-point game.
* The Blue Jackets have 10 consecutive victories against the Panthers, dating to March 21, 2009.
THURSDAY NIGHT NOTABLES
* Eric Fehr broke a 1-1 tie with 4:02 left in regulation to lift the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes tied the game early in the third period when Alexander Semin scored his first goal since March 25. The goal was Semin's 500th NHL point, and it came against the club that selected him in the first round (No. 13) at the 2002 NHL Draft. He had 408 points in 469 games with the Capitals before joining the Hurricanes in 2012-13.
* Eric Gelinas, Steve Bernier, Marek Zidlicky, Jon Merrill and Michael Ryder all had multipoint games as the New Jersey Devils halted a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) with a 5-3 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bernier scored his first game-winning goal of the season and had his first multipoint game since March 30, 2013 at Florida. Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots in his League-leading 25th start to pick up his 10th win of the season.
LOOSE PUCKS
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season to move into a tie for second in the League. He's three behind League leader Tyler Seguin. … Predators defenseman Roman Josi had an assist to push his point streak to four games. … Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad had an assist to move into a tie for third in rookie scoring with 13 points. … Canucks forward Shawn Matthias had a goal and an assist Thursday to give him four goals and two assists in his past five games. … Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky reached 300 NHL assists. … Maple Leafs forwards Tyler Bozak extended his point streak to six games; he has five goals and four assists in that span. … Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay scored to extend his point streak to four games; he has two goals and four assists during his streak. … Red Wings teammates Kyle Quincey and Riley Sheahan matched career-bests for points in a game with two. Tomas Tatar also added two assists and now has one goal and three assists in his past three games. … Penguins forward Craig Adams equaled Ron Schock's Pittsburgh mark when he played in his 313th consecutive game. Adams began his streak Oct. 18, 2010 against the Ottawa Senators. … The United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Thursday inducted four members as its 2014 class: Karyn Bye Dietz, Brian Rafalski, Jeff Sauer and Lou Vairo. Also NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and Philadelphia Flyers president Paul Holmgren received the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
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